


Fifth or Sixth Time's the Charm, Right?

by laxit21



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Consequences, Guilt, I'm mean to Team Cap in certain parts, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Reconciliation, Reincarnation, Slightly Team Iron Man, Sokovia Accords, Surprise Resurrections, not team Cap friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-03-22 17:56:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 70
Words: 116,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13769469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laxit21/pseuds/laxit21
Summary: It’s said some lives are linked across time. Connected through an ancient calling that echoes through the ages. Felicity Smoak happens to live one of those lives. What happens when she meets her ‘other half’ in a world of superheroes, vigilantes and legends?(Or the Reincarnated Soulmates AU no one wanted or asked for)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, here's where I'm diverging from canon:  
> Arrow-Everything up to 4x23 (So Season 5 and on isn't necessarily canon) This also means The Flash up through Season 2, and Legends of Tomorrow through Season 1.  
> MCU-Haven't diverged yet (so everything up to and including the events of Black Panther is 'canon' in this story)but I doubt Infinity War is gonna go in the direction that this story does. (Also, the midcredit scene for Thor Ragnarok didn't happen)
> 
> And when I say 'canon', I mean things that were clearly shown or said on screen. If it was only implied or a headcanon, I don't have to pay attention to it. (i.e. T'Challa giving Bucky sanctuary vs. T'Challa giving all of Team Cap sanctuary )
> 
> This work is critical of multiple characters, but with about two exceptions, isn't gonna bash anyone.

**Many years ago**

Shoshannah crept through the villa until she reached her intended destination. By this time of evening, the whole household, save the guards, was meant to be asleep. She could see her beloved without the dominus or domina catching her, or punishing her for misbehaving. For all she knew, tonight would the last night they could be together.

Without knocking, she opened the door to his quarters. “You should not be here.” Her beloved, Jacob, said as she closed the door.

“I had to come. Tomorrow is an important day.” Tomorrow, Jacob would be entering the gladiatorial arena once again. Hopefully, if fate was kind, he would leave that fight a free man. “Tomorrow, you could be free. This could be the last time I see you.” She looked away.

He reached out and took hold of her chin. “Do you believe I would leave you behind?” he sounded hurt.

“I hope, if the gods are kind, that you will win tomorrow and be a free man. And enjoy the freedom you fought so hard for.” She admitted honestly.

“It would not be true freedom without you.”

“Are you nervous?” She asked him after it was quiet for a few moments.

“I always am. Every time I enter the arena, it could be the last time.” He sighed. “At the beginning, I hoped it would be. I would not have died a free man, but I would not have lived as a slave any longer.”

“What changed?”

“I met you. I found something to live for. A reason to find my way back home.”

“Do you believe we will ever see them again? Our homes?”

Jacob, like many gladiators, had come from Thrace. His village had been attacked by the Romans during a war with a neighboring village. Most of his family were killed, he and his sisters, and many others, were taken as slaves. For his ‘reprehensible behavior’, trying to protect his sister, he’d been condemned to die in the arena. Shoshannah was from the east. Her people had been at war with Rome for years. When they lost, her whole family was taken as slaves.

“I hope we will.” He answered. “You should go, before you are caught.”

She turned to go when the door opened. “What have we here?” Sextus, one of the guards, said from the doorway. He had a devious glint in his eye. “Gladiators are not permitted….company the evening before a fight. I should go inform the dominus. Unless…”

“Unless what?”

“No.” Shoshannah said forcefully. She knew what Sextus was implying and she wouldn’t do it. He had always made her feel uncomfortable. His eyes lingered on her body too long, his gaze felt predatory. “Do what you will, but I will never do that.”

“You overestimate your importance. Do you truly believe that, given a choice between you or his freedom, that any man, including Jacob, will choose you?”

“In most men, I do not. He is not most men.”

This angered the guard, who took a step closer to her. “No, but tomorrow, one way or another, he will leave this place and you will not.” He said sinisterly. He walked closer with every word. “Will you be this brave then? I suppose you will, you believe he will win tomorrow and then free you. Too bad the beliefs of a slave mean nothing. I doubt he will make it until morning.”

Sextus turned, and before either could react, stabbed Jacob in the gut. She gasped and fell to her knees.

“Jacob?”

“I will see you in the morning.” Sextus said as he sauntered from the room.

“Run.” Jacob gasped out.

“What?”

“Run, my love. Find your way home. Be free. For both of us.”

“No, no- I- you cannot die yet. I will-“

“I have killed enough men to know I will not survive this wound.” He admitted. “I am already dead.”

Shoshannah looked at the sword, then at Jacob, then back at the sword. “We did not have enough time together in life. I hope we will in death.” She murmured as she reached for the weapon.

“No. you must live.”

“There is no life without you.” Taking a deep breath, she stabbed herself in the abdomen. “I love you.”

“And I you. In this life and the next.” With one last admission, Jacob closed his eyes and they never reopened.

“Oh, my love. If only we met in another time and in another place.” A few moments later, Shoshannah’s heart stopped beating.

 

Years later, and hundreds of miles away, a blonde woman sat up gasping. Felicity Smoak’s mind reeled as she replayed the dream she’d just had. It felt real, so real. Not like a dream, but like a memory.

“Have I had that dream before?” Everything about it, the man she was talking to, the wounds her dreamself had, it all felt so….familiar.

With no other explanation, and no answers, Felicity rolled over and went back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so the MCU timeline has gotten confusing. For plot purposes, let's say Civil War took place roughly two months after Genesis Day/Darhk's death.
> 
> I also didn't mention this, but since I'm diverging from Arrow post-Season 4, this story starts right after Season 4.

**Europe**

A man was staring into space. He’d had a strange dream earlier and couldn’t decide whether to worry about it or not. On one hand, the dream had felt so real, and so important. On the other, there were so many other, more pressing things, going on. Like the Sokovia Accords, and what they meant.

“Hey. You ok?” the person sitting next to him asked. “You were kinda out of it for a second there.”

“I’m fine, it’s just- you ever get a weird feeling about something you can’t explain?” his companion nodded. “I’ve been having one of those recently.”

“Well, with everything that happened, hell in the last three days, having a weird feeling isn’t that odd.”

“No, it’s something else.” The man said. “Guess I should try to deal with this first though.”

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Felicity was watching the news when there was a knock on the loft’s door. Curious, she went to answer it and found Thea standing there. The brunette stormed past her into the loft.

“Oh my god, I don’t know how you survived doing this three years ago.”

“Doing what?”

“Working with Ollie.” Thea answered. “He’s- he’s- I practically had to handcuff him to the table to make him stay in a meeting. He’s the mayor and he pouts about doing mayor stuff. How did you not go crazy?”

“Well, one, I hated Isabel and Oliver succeeding meant she lost. Two, I constantly threatened to bankrupt him.” Felicity answered. “But yeah, he’s pretty bad with the whole ‘9-to-5’ thing.”

“Exactly, and I just-“ Thea trailed off as her eyes looked over the TV. “God, what happened now?”

Felicity turned to face the screen as well. “The Avengers, and friends, decided to settle their differences in the middle of an airport overnight. I guess they didn’t all agree on the accords. And also, Captain America’s friend might have blown up the UN.”

“How do they effect, you know?” Thea asked. When the Accords were announced, quite a few people in Star City and Central City began to worry about how they’d be applied.

“I don’t know. On the one hand, Damian Darhk’s whole ‘I’m gonna blow up the world’ shtick and Havenrock is a big part of why the UN wanted something like this. On the other, the laws were written with people like ARGUS or the Avengers in mind, so federal and international people, not us locals. I can’t tell you exactly what’s effected or how much until the finalized version is published.”

“What about- I mean, they know who the Avengers are. Do they know who we are?”

“Unless they figured out how to hack my biometric security, no. No one gets into my system but me.”

“But what about-?”

“I think everyone’s more worried about a rogue Captain America than one dude with a bow and arrow.” Felicity answered. “I thought you were out of this business.”

“I am.” Thea said defensively. “Thanks for listening to me rant.”

“No problem. Just, remind him that he wanted to be mayor and that to be mayor, sometimes he actually has to do the work.”

“Thanks for the advice, not that he’ll use it.” Thea said. “How’s your ‘project’ coming along?”

“Ok. Smoak Tech is officially up and running. ARGUS, Homeland and a few other agencies have expressed interest in my software. The other stuff….well, it’s in progress.” Felicity answered honestly. The blonde was upset at how much the Palmer Tech board was dragging their feet. Curtis already owned the patent on the majority of her implantable biostimulant’s parts. The one piece he didn’t own was owned by Palmer Tech, which meant the board was going to stall as long as possible. They couldn’t even use the one part they owned, it had no real commercial application without the rest of the chip.

“You know, you don’t have to do this.” Thea pointed out. “It’s not up to you to fix the whole world.”

“I killed tens of thousands of people with that nuke, Thea. You can say I didn’t have a choice and you can say it isn’t my fault, but I still have to live with what happened. I need to make up for it somehow. Helping people with spinal injuries regain use of their limbs is where I start.” Felicity said.

Thea and Felicity said their goodbyes and the brunette left. The blonde sat back down on her couch and looked over all the ideas she’d brainstormed in the two months since Havenrock.

“Curing paralysis is step one. What’s step two?” she asked herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not saying who Felicity's soulmate is yet. But I wanna know what your guesses are.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity dreams again, and starts to wonder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **_Thracian language_ **
> 
> please note: Everything I know about Viking culture comes from the show Vikings and googling very specific questions to fill in the blanks.

**Norway-10 th century**

When Ingrid was fifteen years old, her village was visited by their earl. He had come to the village to settle a dispute between two farmers. Each claimed the other one stole land and crops from him. Ingrid didn’t care about the argument; neither of the men involved were her father, and other than the excitement surrounding the earl’s visit, it didn’t impact her life one way or the other. Or so she thought.

The day the earl came was the day Ingrid’s life changed. The earl hadn’t come to the village alone. He brought with him his two eldest sons, Einarr and Stigr. The day after their arrival, when most of the men were recovering from a heavy night of drinking, Ingrid was outside feeding the animals. She was almost finished when she heard two voices approaching.

“-and then we can leave this shithole village.” One of them said.

Annoyed and tired, Ingrid slammed the bucket of feed down and started to walk away.

“I think she heard you.” The other one said. “Stop.” It called out. She paused but didn’t turn. “My brother, he speaks without thinking. He means no offense.”

“Yes, he does. To him, this village is a shithole. I imagine this is not the first village he has called that, and it will not be the last.” She said, still not turning around. “If you will excuse me, I have work to do. Then again, what would an earl’s son know of such things?”

“There is no need to be hostile.” The second son, the one who was trying to apologize, said. “I am Stigr, this is my brother Einarr.”

“I know who you are.”

“But we do not know who you are.” He pointed out.

She sighed, realized trying to walk away would only prolong things, and turned slightly to face them. “Ingrid. My name is Ingrid.”

“You know her name, can we leave now?” Einarr interjected.

“If you wish to leave, I cannot stop you.” Stigr said. His brother scoffed and walked away. “Ingrid, daughter of-?”

“Finnr.” She answered before turning to face him completely. “Why does it mat-?”

When Ingrid’s eyes met Stigr’s, she froze and lost her train of thought. Ancient memories, from another time, another lifetime, came rushing back to her. Stigr’s eyes, she’d looked into them before, but not in this village and not in this time.

“Jacob?” she whispered.

**_“Hello, my love.”_ **

_**“How is this-?”** _

“I suppose fate or the gods or what have you are not done with us yet.”

“I- I thought, I thought I was alone this time. That you were at peace.”

“I told you, it is not peace or freedom or life without you.” he said, taking a step closer. “Your hair is different this time.”

“As is yours. Your eyes have stayed the same.”

Nearly everything about their appearances was different this time. Ingrid’s hair was darker than Shoshannah’s had been, while Stigr’s was lighter than Jacobs. Jacob was taller, Stigr was lankier. Their skin tones were different. Their faces weren’t shaped the same as in Rome. The thing, the only thing, that stayed the same were their eyes. They were the same, exactly the same, from the shape to the color to how far apart they were, like a mirror image. She wondered if, should they meet again in yet another lifetime, his eyes would be the same then as well. Perhaps their eyes would be how they remembered one another each time.

Unbeknownst to the reunited lovers, they were being watched. “That is an unexpected development.” Dagny, Ingrid’s mother, said from next to her husband.

“It is.” Finnr agreed. “But not an unwelcome one.” Ingrid was at the right age for marriage. So far, no men in the village had seemed interest in her. Yet, it seemed Stigr was, and Ingrid seemed to return the interest. They were fairly close in age as well, Stigr being only a few years older than her. There were rumors, some of which Finnr heard, that the earl had been unsuccessful so far in convincing his second eldest to marry. Maybe that would change.

“The earl may not agree.”

“He may. I cannot know for certain until we discuss it. She needs a husband and, from the way Bjartr talks, the boy needs a wife.” Finnr said.

It turned out Einarr had not returned to the heart of the village as he claimed. He had walked out of earshot, before his curiosity about his brother’s behavior got the best of him. He watched from the woods as his brother and the girl spoke. Noticing the difference in his behavior, Einarr sought out their father. He told him that Stigr had met a girl in the village, one he appeared to be attracted to. His father questioned him further, before heading out to discover who the girl was.

While Ingrid and Stigr were walking through the village, by all appearances getting to know one another, the earl and Finnr were having a discussion. Both wanted spouses for their children, both also wanted their children to be relatively happy, and both came from respectable families. Finnr and Dagny were both well-known and well-respected warriors. After a long, drawn-out discussion, it was agreed that, after the summer raids, Stigr and Ingrid would marry.

Sadly, the wedding never happened. Ingrid was killed in battle during the summer raids. Stigr was injured a few days later, and died of his wounds shortly after returning home.

 

Felicity woke up and looked around. She had had yet another dream where she was a different person, living in a different time.

“That’s the second time in three days. What the hell is going on?”

The blonde started wondering if it was something she ate before bed or if her strange, hyper-realistic dreams were caused by stress. Or if it was some weird guilt-thing.

Elsewhere, a man had woken up from the same dream and wondered the same things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise not every other chapter will be a past-life chapter.  
> Next up, people deal with the fallout from Civil War/Havenrock/other things


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Havenrock has far reaching consequences, Tony plans and Steve gets a reality check

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, in this story, the Sokovia Accords were created as a result of Ultron, Lagos and Damian Darhk's attempt to wipe out humanity.
> 
> So, one of the things Arrow glossed over, because it's not exciting, was the fallout from Havenrock being destroyed on a national and international scale. There'd be hearing and trials and investigations. All of that is happening in this story because reasons.

**Starling City**

A week or so later, Felicity entered the lair to find Oliver there alone. While Thea gave up being Speedy, more often than not she still came to the bunker at night. Oliver and Felicity weren’t sure if she was rethinking her decision to retire or if she just needed something to do. Usually, even if Thea wasn’t there, Curtis was. He enjoyed being in the bunker, and was still a little bit of a fanboy where the team was involved. Tonight though, neither were there.

“Hey.” Felicity said awkwardly. “How’s…. being mayor?”

“I hate more than half the city council, and most of them hate me.” he said. “Everyone wants to make the city better, but none of them are willing to spend the money. Or discuss real changes.”

“Now you know why it takes the government two years to do pretty much anything.” She deadpanned. “Imagine what Congress must be like.”

“Oh, god. I’d put an arrow in myself.” He remarked. “How- how are you?”

“Well, let’s see. Smoak Tech is growing pretty well, Curtis found a legal, non-copyright violating solution to our chip problem. ARGUS and three other federal departments contracted us to create their cybersecurity software. And my applied sciences, aka Curtis, Cisco on a freelance basis and I, is really close to finalizing the designs on our energy and water projects.”

“That’s not what I meant.” Oliver said. “I was referring to the subpoenas.”

Two days earlier, Felicity and Lyla had both been served with subpoenas. A lot of people wanted answers regarding Damian Darhk, Rubicon and Havenrock. Like the Unites Stated government. It wasn’t going to be long before the UN, specifically the Sokovia Accords Council, would come knocking as well.

“Right.” She sighed. “Well, there’s a lawyer in New York with the right clearance who agreed to represent me, something Murdock. I’m more worried for Lyla to be honest, as the head of ARGUS she’s the one taking most of the heat. As far as they know, I was just in the right place at the right time to try and stop a nuclear Armageddon. It’s about Havenrock, but it’s also about everything that went wrong that led to Havenrock. Can we please talk about something else?”

Neither knew what else to say, so the lair got uncomfortably quiet and eventually, Oliver left on patrol.

* * *

 

**Vienna-Next Day**

T’Challa took a deep breath as he finished his speech and thanked the press for coming. The newly crowned king of Wakanda had just revealed his nation’s true nature to the world. While he believed he had done the right thing, a tiny bit of doubt remained in his mind. There was a possibility that this announcement could bring more harm than good to his people. It wasn’t a likely possibility, but the chance still remained.

With his speech concluded, T’Challa and those he brought with him began to leave the building. Reporters started to try and form a crowd around them, yelling questions and attempting to get a comment from the king. Unfortunately for them, Okoye and the other Dora Milaje wouldn’t let anyone close enough to the king for that to happen. The journalists were left with only his speech and their limited knowledge of Wakanda to base their articles on.

“This changes everything.” One of the reporters said.

“Eh, every two days some new announcement comes out that changes everything.” Another reporter rebutted. “In three days, they’re probably gonna find Atlantis or something. I miss when the UN beat was boring.”

* * *

 

**New Avengers Facility**

Tony, Rhodey, and Vision were watching T’Challa’s speech to the UN on television. To say the three heroes were surprised would be an understatement.

“I- we- I can’t believe he just did that. better yet, I can’t believe we didn’t know that. why didn’t we know about Wakanda?”

“if I may,” Vison began to say, “the country was never colonized. How and why they managed such a feat has been a mystery up until now. When the age of imperialism ended, little thought was given to former colonies, particularly those in Africa. The damage and exploitation had been done, so the empires left and didn’t seem to look back. The world moved on. Every country surrounding Wakanda was viewed as third-world impoverished country by the United States and Europe. For their own reasons, the Wakandans chose to present a similar situation to the world.”

“I hate it when you logically answer a rhetorical question.” Tony said.

“I haven’t quite gotten a hand on sarcasm or faceitiousness yet.” Vison responded. “What are your thoughts, Colonel?”

“I don’t know, man. On the one hand, a lotta stuff we saw last week makes a little more sense. On the other, why now?” Rhodey said as he shifted in his wheelchair.

The doctors still hadn’t given Tony the ‘OK’ to try and help his best friend. They said he needed to heal a little longer before any attempts to repair the damage to his spine could be done. The inventor had a plan. Step one was creating the ‘robot legs’ Tony had spent the last week working on. It wouldn’t fix Rhodey, but it would give him his legs back. Step two was finding a more permanent solution. Stark Industries had been working in biomechanics for some time now, rumor had it the former CEO of Palmer Tech was working on a better version of the chip that cured her own paralysis, and Wakanda, as he’d just discovered, was much more technologically advanced than anyone realized. Whatever the cost, whatever hoops he needed to jump through, Stark was willing to try it. 

* * *

 

**Team Cap Hideout**

Scott, Sam, Clint and Wanda all sat facing the television with varying looks of shock on their faces. Two days earlier, Steve had broken them out of the Raft. He took them to their current hideout and then left, saying there was one more thing he needed to do. Before leaving, to satisfy their curiosity he told his team an abbreviated version of what happened in Siberia. The bored fugitives had been flipping through the TV channels when they saw a news report about their fight in Germany. It wasn’t painting Team Cap in the best light, not by a long shot, and that complicated things.

“You think it was Stark?” Clint asked.

“Of course it was Stark.” Wanda responded.  “He was mad he didn’t catch Steve, and now he’s mad we escaped that hellhole. He gave the media that tape to make us look bad.”

“So, I guess that means we aren’t going home. At least not yet.” Scott said.

Sam, wisely, stayed quiet. Spending the last two days with these people, and watching the news report was starting to make him reevaluate what happened in Leipzig.

* * *

 

**Wakanda**

While the citizens of Wakanda, and most of the world, were reeling from T’Challa’s announcement the previous day, two men were focused on something else.

“You sure about this?” Steve asked Bucky.

“I can’t trust my own mind. So, until they figure out how to get this stuff outta my head, I think going under’s the best thing. For everybody.”

As unhappy as it made Steve, he didn’t try to talk Bucky out of his decision, and watched as the Wakandan scientists put his friend back into cryostatis. After Bucky was under, T’Challa came into the lab.

“Thank you for this.” the captain told the king.

“Your friend and my father, they were both victims. If I can help one of them find peace…”

“You know, if they find out he’s here, they’ll come for him.”

T’Challa looked out the window. “Let them try.”

“Well, I suppose I should go bring the others.” Steve said after several minutes of silence.

The king knew where Rogers’ mind was going, and decided to nip that idea in the bud. “I will not shelter them here.”

“But you said-“

“I promised sanctuary and aid to Sergeant Barnes in light of what he has been through. I extended the same offer to you as a courtesy to him, in the hopes a familiar face would put him at ease. I said nothing of any others.” T’Challa responded. “I will not allow them into my country.”

“But they-“

“Are now fugitives from the United Nations. Regardless of your opinion on how ‘fair’ their arrests were, that is a fact. I will not put my people or my country further at risk.” T’Challa told him. “If you wish to leave, I will not stop you. But understand this, if you try to return with them, all of you will be turned away at the border.”

The Captain seemed to be forgetting a few things. The nation of Wakanda and T’Challa himself supported the Sokovia Accords. They saw the clear need for accountability and a stable command structure. By sheltering the Raft’s fugitives, T’Challa would be hypocritically violating the Accords and more importantly to him, dishonoring the memory of his father. The UN was still debating what charges to consider against ‘Team Cap’ for Romania and Germany, but unlike the Raft escapees and unlike Captain Rogers, there were no active charges against Barnes. As he said moments ago, Bucky Barnes and King T’Chaka were victims, Steve and the others weren’t.

“Understood.” Steve then left, hoping that in a few days, after things had calmed down a little more, he could talk to T’Challa and convince him to change his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole 'Team Cap hides out in Wakanda' idea has never made sense to me for a lot of reasons, especially considering Bucky's situation had nothing to do with the actual Accords. 
> 
> Try to guess how Arrow characters are gonna meet Marvel characters.  
> (Almost) last chance to guess who Felicity's soulmate is. The options are:  
> Steve  
> Bucky  
> Sam  
> Scott  
> Clint  
> Tony  
> Bruce  
> Rhodey  
> T'Challa


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Cap laments their situation, Tony comes up with a plan and three surprise visitors show up.

**Team Cap Hideout**

Steve didn’t meet anyone’s eyes as he finished explaining his last conversation with T’Challa. He knew they were looking to him for answers, but Steve just didn’t have any ideas right now. The last two weeks finally catching up to him.

“So, what does that mean?” Sam asked.

“it means we’re screwed. We’re fugitives, we’ve got no place to hide and everyone on earth is looking for us.” Clint interjected. “You seriously broke us out without thinking of where we could hide?”

“I couldn’t just leave you all there.” Steve said. “We stay here until the heat dies down a little bit, then figure something out. T’Challa may change his mind or the world will realize how useless the Accords are. It’s gonna be okay.”

"So, until then we're just supposed to sit here twiddling our thumbs? In fucking _Belgium_?" Clint asked.

Scott had scoffed and walked off as soon as Steve finished talking. All he could think about was Cassie. He was starting to think he'd made a huge mistake, and wanted nothing more than to talk to her again. 

* * *

 

**New York**

Tony got off the phone with members of the Accords Council. He knew the Accords, Ross’s involvement aside, were necessary. Oversight and accountability were hands down better than just winging it the way they had in the past. Tony knew they were right, but that didn’t stop the Council from being annoying to deal with. The breakout at the Raft had made things worse.

The inventor was turning back to one of his experiments when FRIDAY spoke up.

“Boss, I found something that might interest you.”

“What is it, Fri?” he asked.

A photo and an article was projected onto a nearby wall a moment later. “Felicity Smoak was subpoenaed to testify before Congress. Her hearing is tomorrow. She’s flying into DC tonight. You could take the jet, fly down there and speak with her after the hearing’s done. About her chip and Colonel Rhodes’ injury.”

“What’s your take? On Smoak, I mean?”

“It’s likely she’ll consider your proposal, or at least hear you out. She was fired as CEO of Palmer Technologies for trying to make the chip available to more people. Her actions following Havenrock have shown a genuine desire to help others. Speaking to her in person seems like the best option.”

“Don’t know what I’d do without you, Fri.” Tony said. “Call Pepper, fill her in. see if she’s willing to make an impromptu trip.”

One good thing, probably the only good thing, that had come from the so-called Civil War was that Siberia woke both Tony and Pepper up to some things. When Tony came home from the hospital, Pepper was there waiting. They had a long and frank discussion about everything, which ended with both deciding to give their relationship another try.

* * *

 

**Starling**

Oliver bit back a growl of frustration. Felicity had left earlier that day due to her Congressional hearing. This meant Curtis had had to fill in on the comms that night. It wasn’t that Curtis was bad at doing the tech, he just wasn’t Felicity. Also, Oliver was worried about the outcome of the hearing what it could mean for both Felicity and him. The archer went back to shooting tennis balls.

He zoned out completely, until Curtis’ tone of voice caught his attention.

“Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?” the former Olympian asked someone.

Two voices answered, two familiar voices.

“Who are you?”

“Where is everyone? Where’s Felicity?”

Oliver turned and saw Sara and Ray Palmer standing there.

“What are you doing here?” he asked the pair.

“Where’s Felicity?” Sara asked again.

“DC, Congressional hearing about Darhk.” They both looked concerned. “Why?”

“We, um, we really need to talk to her. About a few things. Things only she can help with.” Ray said.

He didn’t want to say more than that until he talked to her. the ATOM was still a little in denial about what he’d seen. So was Sara. The only reason they came to Starling at all was because Professor Stein saw it too and asked Gideon. Gideon gave a cryptic explanation and told the pair the best person to talk to was Felicity.

* * *

 

**Washington DC**

Felicity sighed as she entered her hotel room. She’d landed just over an hour ago and needed to prepare herself mentally for the next day. Talking about what happened was hard enough when it was just Oliver, Thea or Digg. Discussing it with total strangers, and politically powerful strangers at that, was ten times as painful.

Knowing she wouldn’t get much sleep anyway, Felicity settled in to looking over proposals for Smoak Tech and answering the emails she’d gotten during the flight. The blonde was snapped out of her reverie when someone tried to enter the room.

“Whoever you are, I have a gun and I’m not afraid to use it.”

“No, you do not. The TSA would not have permitted you to bring a weapon onto the plane.” A voice said from the other side of the door.

Recognizing it, the blonde tore the door open and just stared. “Nyssa?! What are you doing here?”

“You and I need to speak, Felicity Smoak.” The dark haired woman responded. “It is a matter of some importance.”

“I thought you didn’t do this anymore. The League was disbanded, you disbanded it.”

“I disbanded the League of Assassins, yes. However, I could not walk away from everything I knew. Certain members joined me in my new endevour.”

“That’s… nice. It doesn’t explain why you’re here though.”

“No, it does not. Have you been having strange dreams lately? Of another time. Ones that feel real, more like a memory than a dream?”

Felicity was in shock for a few moments. She hadn’t mentioned her dreams to anyone, so unless Nyssa could read minds, she had no idea how the brunette knew. She hadn’t even had one of _those_ dreams in almost a week. “If I have?”

Nyssa’s facial expression changed and she began to pull Felicity towards the door. “You must come with me. There are some things I need to tell you and someone you must speak to.”

“Nyssa, I can’t. I have to testify tomorrow, the entire US government wants answers about what happened. Darhk, Genesis, Havenock, all of it. If I don’t show up, they will come for me. And I’m pretty sure they won’t be nice about it.”

“This is beyond trivial government matters.” Nyssa said in a serious voice.

“Then it can wait one day while I deal with the ‘trivial government matters’.” Felicity argued back. “I- I need to do this.”

“Very well. I will return in two days time with another and we will talk then.” The assassin turned and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think Nyssa's up to? Sara and Ray? What's Tony's plan? Who do you think Felicity's soulmate is?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The universe has caught on to Felicity's situation, Felicity meets Tony Stark, and Shuri's work has hit an unforeseen obstacle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure if Strange is the Sorcerer Supreme yet or not, so let's pretend he is.

**London**

Stephen Strange and Wong were meeting with the master of the London sanctum when one of the relics in the room began to act abnormally. The Sorcerer Supreme knew sorcery involved a great deal of suspending one’s disbelief, but the relic’s behavior was beyond abnormal.

The relic, an ancient looking book, was closed and held in a glass case. Suddenly, the book slammed open, rose of its own accord and broke out of its case. It came flying at the three sorcerers before settling itself in Wong’s hands.

“Unbelievable.” The librarian said looking down at the book. “The time has come again. The regression has begun.”

“Are you certain?” Master Hamir asked.

“The Book of the Ursitoare would not, could not, awaken otherwise.”

“Um, fill me in here.” Strange said. “What’s so important about that book and what’s begun?”

“We don’t know exactly what caused it, but centuries ago two people died, a man and a woman. You’d think that was the end of it, but the Natural Order disagreed. The pair were reincarnated centuries later. They died again, and after more time passed, they were reincarnated. This has happened numerous times over the centuries, we know of three such occasions.” Wong explained. “This book awakens each time the cycle begins once more.”

“So a mystical reincarnated baby was just born.”

“The book does not awaken when they are born.” Master Hamir said. “It awakens when they begin to remember their past lives. When the Natural Order begins to pull them towards each other.”

“What does the book do and what does any of that have to do with us?”

“We have to find one of them.” Wong said.

“Two people, out of seven billion.” Stephen said skeptically.

“It is easier than you think. It sounds....cheesy, but the book will guide us in the correct direction.”

* * *

 

**Washington DC**

Felicity was walking through the lobby of her hotel. She’d just finished her first, and thankfully last, day of testifying before Congress. She definitely owed her lawyer, Matt Murdock, a lot more than money. Not only did he prevent her from saying too much when asked about Havenrock, but he also somehow knew exactly when he needed to ask for clarification to avoid making Felicity commit perjury. It only happened two or three times, when asking for a specific answer would’ve been perjury but giving a general idea wouldn’t have been. For instance, she couldn’t say she didn’t know how a nuke meant for Monument Point landed in Havenrock, but she could say the guidance system had been tampered with.

The hearing was replaying in her mind when she heard a voice call out to her. The blonde turned and saw two people waiting in the lobby. Two very recognizable people.

“Felicity Smoak? I’m-“

“I know who you are. Everyone knows who you are. You’re Pepper Potts and he’s Tony Stark.” She blurted out.

“Yes. Could we have a moment of your time?”

“Depends. Is he here for personal reasons or at the request of the Accords Council?” she said pointing to Tony.

“Why would I-?”

“I know everyone points to Ultron and Nigeria as the only reasons the Sokovia Accords exist, but they aren’t. Damian Darhk’s attempt to deep-fry the planet was an equal part of their creation. I figured, since I just talked to Congress about it, it wouldn’t be long before the UN wanted to talk as well.” Felicity explained. “So, which is it?”

“Not here about the Accords.” Tony said. “I want-“

“Why don’t we discuss this over dinner?” Pepper stepped in and said.

Felicity, who was hungry, nodded and followed them into the hotel’s restaurant. They ordered, made small talk and avoided anything serious up until dinner arrived.

“Ok, what’s this about?” Felicity said, wanting to get any and all unpleasantness out of the way already.

“it’s about your miracle chip, the biostimulant.”

“We know you, not Palmer Technologies, own the patent.” Pepper began to say.

“Let me stop you right there. The answer is no.” Felicity said, setting her fork down. “I respect both of you as businesspeople and you as a scientist Mr. Stark. But that chip belongs to Smoak Tech and I won’t sell you the patent rights for it. Should I change my mind, I’ll let you know. Thank you for dinner.” She started to stand up.

“Wait, please sit.” Tony said, uncharacteristically pleading. He seemed frantic to explain himself, which was rare for the usually suave genius. “I read why you were dismissed from Palmer Tech and I understand why you don’t want another company involved.”

“We didn’t come here to try and buy the patent.” Pepper said. “We came here to ask for your help.”

“My help?” Felicity asked, sitting back down. She looked between the pair. “You know a possible candidate for the implant, don’t you?”

“Yes. Our friend Rhodey- sorry Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes- he was injured in the attempt to apprehend Captain America in Germany.” Pepper explained.

“He’s- it’s- I’m partly to blame for what happened. Your chip is years ahead of SI’s biomedical department.” Tony said. “My best friend is paralyzed and you might be able to help him. I had to at least ask.”

“You know, if you had opened with ‘I want to help my friend’ it would’ve saved a lot of time.” Felicity said. “I can’t promise anything. Spinal injuries are tricky and his might be vastly different from mine. But-“

“But?”

“But we did invent it to help people so I don’t see why we shouldn’t at least try. I need to talk to my partner about it before I agree to anything.”

“Understandable.” Pepper said. “Thank you for your time. ”

Tony handed Felicity a piece of paper. “That’s my private number. After you’ve talked it over, please give me a call.”

Felicity went upstairs after dinner and called Curtis. They had a lengthy discussion about the situation before coming to an agreement they thought Tony would agree to.

She hung up and called the number Stark had given her. “Our answer is yes. I’m gonna need a few things from you though.”

“Name it.”

“You’d need to sign something agreeing not to, you know, steal the invention or anything along those lines. We’d need a copy of his medical records, MRIs, x-rays, whatever you can get me. I’d need to talk with his doctor and a spinal surgeon. I also need to talk to him.”

“Seems reasonable, but why do you need to talk to Rhodey?”

“There’s a few things I need him to hear from me or Curtis before the procedure. I don’t want things to get lost in translation so to speak or having to play phone tag.”

When the blonde went to bed that night, she found sleep impossible. For one thing, she was worried she might be giving false hope to Colonel Rhodes. Having been in a similar situation, she knew what it felt like to have hope of a recovery and see it come crashing down.

She was also intrigued, and a little worried, about whatever Nyssa wanted. Somehow, the brunette knew about her weird, hyper-realistic dreams. Dreams she hadn’t had in a week and had almost completely written off when she arrived. Now that Nyssa was getting involved, she couldn’t just dismiss them as a fluke occurrence. 

* * *

 

**Wakanda**

T’Challa was in his office working. The young king was taking advantage of a quiet day to catch up on all of the little things he hadn’t been able to deal with over the last week or so. Everyone who thought being king was easy or fun clearly never thought about all the paperwork or reading involved. T’Challa was nearing the end of a report about damage sustained in his fight with Killmonger when Shuri walked in.

“What is it?” He asked. The look on her face told him she wasn’t there for a social call.

“I made a discovery. About our broken white boy.” She told her brother.

“Agent Ross is no longer in Wakanda.”

“No, the other one. It’s- repairing his brain just became way harder.”

“Harder how?”

Barnes had only been in cryo for a week. Shuri had only put her finishing touches on the program to ‘reboot’ his brain that morning. He couldn’t see how there was already a problem.

“It’s easier to show you.” she said as she gestured for T’Challa to follow her.

* * *

**Belgium**

Steve Rogers walked into one of the bedrooms in their hideout. He found Wanda fast at work packing. Startled at the sight, he didn't say anything right away as his brain tried to catch up.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing. I'm leaving."

"You can't. The entire world is looking for us right now. They'll catch you."

"I'm not staying here cooped up. And I'd like to see them try and catch me again." She said the last part ominously.  "Are you going to try and stop me?"

Steve shook his head and said, "Why don't we discuss this as a team? You leaving wouldn't just affect you." If she were caught, she could tell the authorities where they were hiding. Steve didn't think she would, but the others had a right to know. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter had a minor hint about Felicity's soulmate. Next chapter has a much more overt one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Cap is having some issues, Nyssa has some surprising news, Felicity's soulmate is pretty much confirmed, and Sara visits with questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor spoiler warning for Black Panther

**Belgium**

When Steve woke up the next morning, Wanda was already gone. All her things were missing and she didn’t leave a note. Steve had to awkwardly explain to the others that she’d left, he knew was wanted to leave, and now they might need to relocate. Scott seemed ambivalent. By now, he was starting to realize he might've made a mistake leaving when Sam called. He just wanted to see Cassie again more than anything. Sam and Clint were pissed. Natasha was still in the wind, but if she had been there, she would've been just as pissed as the others.

* * *

 

**Washington DC**

Felicity stayed in DC an extra day. She was expecting Nyssa to pop up at any moment and there were a few new exhibits she wanted to see at the Air and Space Museum. It also gave her some time to think, about whatever Nyssa needed to tell her, about the hearings and about life. She’d been jumping from one crisis to another for over a year and time away from both Starling and Oliver gave her space to reflect. After a long day of overthinking, and satisfying her inner nerd, Felicity returned to her hotel, only to find Nyssa and another woman who looked somewhat familiar in her hotel room.

“You know, you could’ve just called. I know you have my number.” Felicity muttered.

“I’m afraid this is more important than having good manners.” Nyssa told her. “I was correct, wasn’t I? About your dreams.”

“They’re just dreams, Nyssa.”

“No, they are not.” The unknown woman said. “They are….memories would be the most accurate word to use.”

“Who are you?”

“My name was once Faiza Najm, but for years I have gone by Al-Kahina, the priestess. We saw one another, briefly, in Nanda Parbat.”

Now Felicity knew who she was, she was even more confused. She didn't know what any of this had to do with the League, but she knew it was probably not good. “Doesn’t explain why you’re here or what you’re saying. What do you mean, they aren’t dreams?”

“I will explain, but please listen before you automatically disregard what I say. They aren’t dreams, they’re memories of your past lives. You have been reincarnated several times already.”

“My past lives?”

“Yes. The first one took place in ancient Rome, didn’t it? Your name was Shoshannah and you were in love with a gladiator named Jacob. He was mortally wounded and you committed suicide.”

“How do you-?”

“Because in a different past life, you told the League’s priestess and that knowledge was passed down to me.” The priestess answered. “How many dreams have there been?”

“Two. The one in ancient Rome and the one where I was a Viking.”

“Ingrid and Stigr.” Nyssa said. “There have been no others?” She sounded surprisingly disappointed at the news.

“Well, I had one last night, but I was still in Rome in it. It was part of the one I had before.”

“But no other time periods?”

“Nope. They just stopped, I don’t know why.”

“Close your eyes for me.” the priestess said. Wanting to get this farce over with, Felicity obliged. The woman put one hand on her forehead and began muttering something. “She is not causing the delay, he is.”

“What do you mean? Who is ‘he’ and what delay?”

“Jacob, or rather the person Jacob was reincarnated into. The delay I refer to is in you getting all your memories back. The ones from all of your past lives, not just those two specific lifetimes.”

“Ok, but what does that mean? Is he- did he die?”

“No, he is alive.” She answered in a confident voice. Both women looked uncomfortable at the thought of explaining how they knew. “When you have these dreams, you aren’t the only one experiencing it. He sees the same life at the same time as you. It stands to reason that if he, for some reason, cannot regress into the past, then neither can you.”

“Ok, let’s say I believe you-“

“I speak the truth.”

“And my soulmate is out there somewhere. None of this explains why you’re here or how you know I’m a reincarnation. Or what I’m supposed to do.”

“You two are fated to meet, Felicity.” Nyssa explained. “The memories, they are a push in the right direction. The universe trying to give context to an inexplicable draw you’ll feel to one another.”

“The answer to your second question is simple. Those of us who are skilled in what you might call magic feel….an awakening each time something like this happens. However you managed to be reborn, mystical forces are somewhat responsible.” Faiza said.

“And my first question? Why are you here? What do my past lives have to do with you or Nyssa or the former League?”

The priestess smiled. “I can’t tell you. You haven’t gotten those memories back yet, so you wouldn't believe me. When you remember being Laila, you will know.”

* * *

 

**Wakanda**

“Explain this to me again.” T’Challa said as Shuri’s explanation went over his head yet again.

“Seriously? So this program creates like a Cloud version of Sergeant Barnes’ brain. With me so far?” the king nodded. She gestured to the screen behind her. “Each picture behind me is a different memory.”

“And?”

Shuri typed something into the screen and a memory played. The siblings watched in silence as it played.

On screen, a man whose voice sounded like Sergeant Barnes was talking to an unknown blonde woman. They were speaking a language the siblings didn’t know. Whatever they were talking about, it seemed like this was a personal moment for both of them. They parted ways after a few minutes and the man stared after the woman as she left.

When the video stopped, Shuri turned to her brother. “Now do you see what I meant?” T’Challa nodded. “What should I do about that?”

“For now? Nothing. This memory is unrelated to Hydra. Focus on removing the triggers, I will speak with someone who has more knowledge about this.”

It was very unfortunate that Zuri had been killed by N’Jadaka days earlier. His expertise as a shaman would’ve been valuable to helping Shuri understand what to do about certain memories of Barnes’. Memories that he couldn’t possibly have, like living in ancient Rome.

* * *

 

**Washington DC**

After Nyssa and Faiza left, Felicity began pacing. She tried not to think too hard about everything they had told her. While it seemed ridiculous, the idea of reincarnation, stranger things had happened and if the last year taught her anything, nothing was completely impossible. Felicity’s phone rang in the middle of her freakout.

“Hello?”

“Blondie, where are you?” Sara asked.

“DC.”

“I know, Ollie told me. where is DC though? Ray and I really need to talk to you.”

Worried, Felicity gave Sara the hotel's address and told her what room she was staying in. Only a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. The blonde looked through the peephole, saw Ray and Sara and opened the door.

“What’s wrong?” were the first words out of the hacker’s mouth.

“Well, we, um. It’s a little difficult to figure out where to start and I’m pretty sure-“ Ray started to babble.

“Our ship wound up stranded in the past.” Sara said, cutting Ray off. “And we need to talk to you about what we saw.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom. Drop the mic.  
> Congrats to pretty much everyone who guessed it.
> 
> Also, what do you think Sara and Ray saw? What about the whole thing with Nyssa and the League?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Legends are reminded that the past wasn't the best time period for everyone, see a familiar face and Felicity gets confirmation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the past has two different time frames: how long ago it actually was, and how long ago it was for the Legends or whoever. This is important later.
> 
> (Ex: WWII: 71 years ago real time, 4 years ago Steve time)

**Centuries ago/ A few days ago (Legends time)**

“What in the hell was that?” Mick Rory asked as the Waverider landed rather roughly.

“I’m afraid the ship’s compressor was heavily damaged during take-off.” Gideon announced. “We are unable to travel through the time stream until repairs are made.”

“I’ll get to the engine room, see what the damage is.” Jax said standing up.

“So we’re stuck here.” Nate Heywood, the new crew member said. “Where are we exactly?”

“Rome. The year is 73 BC.” Gideon answered.

“Rome? As in ancient Rome. Julius Ceasar, colosseum, gladiator matches, that ancient Rome?” Sara asked.

“Precisely.”

“Well, we’re in ancient Rome. We might as well explore. See some history for ourselves.” Ray said hopefully, looking to Sara.

“Ok, fine.”

“This is going to be fascinating.” Stein said as he and Palmer left the bridge. They were discussing all of the lost knowledge they might be able to learn while the ship was being fixed. Sara and Nate followed them. Mick stayed behind, deciding food and a nap were more important.

Hours later, the time travelers were heading back to the hidden time ship. After wasting a few hours interacting with the locals, they got swept up in a crowd heading into an arena of some kind. They found seats and discovered a gladiatorial match was about to begin.

“I was not expecting those fights to be so violent.” Stein said as they moved further from the arena.

“The gladiators became legends for a reason.” Sara pointed out. “And they didn’t have a whole lot of other entertainment.” The captain then paused as shouting started somewhere ahead of them. The group held back as a group of Roman’s ran past them towards the noise.

Out of some sense of morbid curiosity, the team walked over to where a crowd was gathering.  They soon wish they hadn’t. A number of slaves had been caught attempting to flee the city during the games. Their masters decided to make a public example out of them. The team watched in horror as the crowd cheered the brutality on. Soon, several slaves were dead, while the others were horrifically maimed.

The crowd was dispersing, and the team continued on their way when Nate bumped into someone. The woman fell to the ground, dropping what she was holding. The historian bent down to help her gather up her things.

“Let me help you with that.”

“I don’t need your assistance.” The woman said. Sara and Ray both did a double-take at the voice. it sounded very familiar. The woman’s face was still hidden by her long blonde hair.

“I’m the reason you dropped everything. Helping you seems like the right thing to do.”

“If you want to help me, you’ll leave. Before you make the situation worse.” The woman said as she stood up. She finally looked at him and noticed he wasn’t alone. Sara and Ray both inhaled sharply the second the woman looked up. She froze at their reactions, not fully knowing why.

A few yards away, someone called out Shoshannah’s name and snapped her out of her trance. “I must go.” She said before practically sprinting away. The Legends, except Nate, were staring after her.

“She- she looked just like-“

“Felicity.” Sara finished for Ray. “I mean, not an exact duplicate, but they could’ve been sisters. Are we- did we really see that? Felicity Smoak, in ancient Rome. I think we’re losing it.”

“She certainly bore an uncanny resemblance to Ms. Smoak.” Professor Stein said. He’d met the blonde hacker only once, when Barry had asked her to come to Star Labs to help Team Flash with a metahuman they were trying to locate.

“I don’t- I don’t understand. How is she here? Is this another Kendra situation?” Ray asked. If Kendra was a reincarnation, there was no reason anyone else couldn’t be as well.

“Um, guys. We’re getting weird looks.” Nate said. “I think we should get out of here.”

The team, silently, made the trip back to the Waverider. Jax had just finished the repairs to the engines and was double and triple checking everything before the ship took off. Everyone split up when they entered the timestream. Stein and Jax left to do their weekly Firestorm merge, Mick was still asleep, Nate locked himself in his room to make sure they hadn’t broken time. This left Ray and Sara standing on the bridge, unsure of what to do.

“That’s it. I’m asking Gideon.” Sara said after a solid five minutes of silence. “The curiosity is killing me.”

“How can I help you Captain?” Gideon asked upon hearing her name.

“I need you to check every verified historical source you have access to.”

“For what?”

“Any reference to a Roman woman named Shoshannah from this time or any image that resembles Felicity Smoak.”

“May I ask why?” Gideon asked, which was uncharacteristic of her.

“Because Shoshannah is a dead ringer for Felicity Smoak.” Ray answered. “And we’d like to know why.”

“I could explain why, but I will not. I can tell you she isn’t in the same situation as Kendra was. Regardless, that is a question Ms. Smoak would be better at answering.”

Part of the AI’s programmed mission was to protect the timeline. Felicity finding out about her past lives was the catalyst in creating multiple fixed points and unavoidable events in time. Felicity Smoak had to discover about her past lives on August 7, 2016, not one day earlier. Anyone learning about it too early meant catastrophe.

* * *

 

**Present Day**

“You were stuck in the past.” Felicity said. “And you saw me.Or someone who looked like me.”

“Yup.”

“What- what year was it? or I guess what time period is a better question.”

“It was ancient Rome. The woman who looked like you, her name-“

“Was Shoshannah. She was a slave.” Felicity interrupted. Her face got a far off look as she let her mind wander. “You saw her in the marketplace, after the gladiator match the day Roza was killed for trying to escape and join the rebellion. A man you were with ran into her.” She remembered that day incredibly clearly, since the very next night Shoshannah was dead.

“Yes. How-?”

“Because she saw it- I saw it. She didn’t look like me, she was me. It was my past life, the first one I think.” Felicity said. “So Nyssa wasn’t lying.”

Up until now, Felicity had only half-believed what Nyssa had told her. Yes, it was possible for reincarnation, Kendra proved that, but she had no evidence that Felicity was reincarnated except for a handy-wavy explanation of her dreams and Nyssa's own insistence. Sara and Ray having seen her, and her remembering them, was concrete evidence. She couldn't dispute the fact that she had seen Sara in 73BC.

“Wait, what about Nyssa?” Sara asked.

“You just missed her. She and the League’s priestess showed up earlier today to tell me I’m a reincarnation. Somehow I was connected to the League in a past life. Oh, and my reincarnated soulmate is out there somewhere.”

“So, like Kendra and Carter?”

“Not exactly. Kendra, from what I understand, was an exact copy of the Egyptian priestess, I’m not. They’re different bodies but it’s the same soul. Does that make sense?” Felicity said. “Shoshannah was taller, Ingrid had darker hair. We were built differently. My soulmate was olive-skinned in Rome but pale in Norway. For all I know, in another life we were born in feudal Japan or the Aztec Empire.”

“Now I get why Gideon wouldn’t tell us anything.” Ray said.

"She wouldn't?" Felicity asked. "That's weird, right?"

"Incredibly." Sara answered. "It was almost like-"

"Me finding out about my past lives today is vital to the timeline."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're not gonna see every event caused by Felicity learning the truth, but we will see a few. Including two Gideon is most worried about making sure happen.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> T'Challa and Shuri talk, the king needs a second opinion, and Felicity has a meeting.

**Wakanda**

“Any updates, Shuri?” T’Challa asked as he walked into her lab.

“I improved the response time in one the remote control disks by over a hundred percent.” She answered not looking up.

“I told you, they work just fine.”

“Just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.” She responded. “And what did I tell you about wearing sandals in my lab?”

T’Challa was smart enough to look chastised. “Sorry. How goes Sergeant Barnes’ treatment?”

“Slow. Especially since you haven’t told me how to deal with his….extra memories.” She said, frustrated. “I’ve begun removing the smaller triggers, but the unexplained memories pose a problem. I don’t know how they were able to implant memories from centuries ago into his mind. Or what their purpose is. They don’t relate to any brainwashing he’s undergone, and seem to be rather ordinary with few exceptions.”

“Do you know when they take place?”

“The memory we watched was sometime in the 1st century BC based on my limited knowledge of European history. Other came from Viking times I assume.” She said. “What’s that look for?”

“I spoke to a student of Zuri’s. He suggested these memories may be….from another life.”

“Are you saying he’s a reincarnation or something?”

“Stranger things have happened. I will seek out another opinion regardless.”

* * *

**New York-Two Weeks Later**

Felicity looked around the airport nervously. Today she was going to the new Avengers Compound to meet with Colonel Rhodes. Curtis was working on building and testing out the chip. He’d be flying out for the surgery to implant it. Felicity had the harder job, explaining everything to Rhodes and his team of doctors. The blonde scanned the airport crowd again. She’d turned down Stark’s offer to use his private jet to get there but she allowed him to send a car. Now, she just needed to find the driver.

Suddenly, the family reunion happening right in front of her moved towards the baggage claim and she saw a man in a suit holding up a sign. The sign read ‘Supreme Leader Smoak’. Shaking her head, she walked over to the man.

“Ms. Smoak, I take it? Happy Hogan.”

“Nice to meet you. Call me Felicity.” She said introducing herself. “I guess we should get out of here.”

The ride to the compound was quiet. The pair made small talk at the beginning, but were soon sidetracked when Curtis called Felicity with an update. The call ended right as the car pulled up to the building’s main gate. Looking outside, she saw Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, a black man in a wheelchair she assumed was Rhodes, several people dressed like agents, someone in a blue and red spandex suit, a tall brunette woman with green skin and two bizarre looking men floating above the ground. One looked like an ordinary human, except for the bright red cape and the floating part. The other one was pinkish-purple and had a yellow cape.

The car pulled to a stop and Felicity got out before Happy could open the door.

“Smoakie!”

“Mister Stark.”

“it’s Tony. Glad you could make it.”

“It’s nothing. you didn’t need to throw me a welcome party.” She said looking at each person in turn. “I’m sorry but who are all of you? I mean, I know Tony and Pepper and I’m guessing you’d be Colonel Rhodes, but I don’t know the rest of you.”

“Hey, I’m Spiderman. This is She-Hulk, aka Jennifer. The guy with the beard is Doctor Strange and that’s Vision. Everyone else is involved with the Accords.” The man, no boy, in the red and blue suit said.

“Nice to meet you all. Can we head inside?” She didn’t really understand why everyone was there waiting for her. She also felt…uneasy when she heard Strange’s name. She hadn’t paid very close attention to the news in the last few days, but she’d heard of the Sorcerer Supreme. She knew, logically, that he wasn’t Damian Darhk, but he used magic all the same, and she didn’t have the best track record where magic was involved.

The agents dispersed, and the ragtag group went inside. They wound up in a conference room, sitting around the table. “I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t expecting all of you to sit in on this meeting.”

“Told Rhodey I’d stay if he needed moral support.” Tony said.

“As a former spinal surgeon, I’m consulting on the case.” Strange said.

“Viz and I kinda just wanna know more about how the chip works.” Spiderman said. Vision seemed to be uncomfortable with the discussion that was about to happen.

“Fair enough. Although I’m gonna get into the mechanics of the chip right now. This is more an overview of the procedure and getting a little more detail about the situation. I don’t quite know where to start though.” Felicity said. “I guess we should start with how you were injured, Colonel Rhodes. I don’t need every detail, I know there might be some ‘Danger Top Secret’ things that happened, but a general idea would be nice.”

“It’s Rhodey and how much did Tony tell you?”

“He said you were injured during the airport fight in Germany.”

Rhodes began explaining everything that happened between Scott Lang enlarging himself and waking up in the hospital. The story took a while to tell, and as it went on, Vision began looking more and more guilty. She guessed he blamed himself, somehow, for what happened.

“And your doctors have cleared you for the operation?”

“Yeah, as of earlier this morning.”

“Ok, I need to do the somewhat boring disclaimer part right now then. I can’t guarantee this will work, every spinal injurt is unique. Even if it does work, it may take a few days or even a few weeks to be fully functional. You won't be able to go back to being War Machine right away. It's designed for normal physical activity at the moment, but that's something we can tweak later.” he nodded. “You’ll still need to do physical therapy. Every six months, myself or Curtis will need to do some basic maintenance to ensure it still works.”

“Ok.” Rhodes answered. "Curtis is your business partner right? Is there a reason he didn't come?"

"Yeah, he's working on getting everything set up to build the implant. Then he has to test it, go back, make some adjustments, so on. You know how it is." She answered. "Any questions?"

Strange and Tony both opened their mouths to ask questions when there was a crashing noise and something came flying into the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's gonna be a few chapters before Bucky and Felicity meet, I'm just gonna warn you now.   
> What do you think is gonna happen next?


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity gets some unexpected help, Tony draws a line in the sand, and Felicity is keeping a few things secret, Also, Gideon waits.

**New York**

Strange and Tony both opened their mouths to ask Felicity questions about the implant and surgery when there was a crashing noise and something came flying into the room. Everyone looked on perplexed as a heavy, old-looking volume came flying into the room and settled directly in front of Felicity.

“Um….what?” The hacker asked.

“Sorry, that’s mine.” Strange said as he reached over for the book. He picked up and set it down in front of him. The book then moved back over to Felicity.

“I think it likes me.” Felicity said, amused.

Strange was about to respond when a golden circle of light appeared in the room and an Asian man stepped out. He immediately walked over to Strange. “The book is missing.” He said worriedly.

“No, it’s not.” Strange said, pointing behind Wong to where Felicity was sitting.

“How did you get this?” He asked her.

“You’re not gonna believe me. Or maybe you are, because you did just appear out of basically thin air knowing this somehow was here. oh my god, how is this actually my life? I mean-“

“Ms. Smoak?” Vision said, cutting off her ramble.

“Right. I was sitting here explaining something when the book just kinda came flying into the room.” She said awkwardly. “I’m guessing you want it back.”

Wong then turned his attention to Strange. “This is a very powerful relic, we don’t know what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands. It may have come to you-“

“It didn’t come to me. it came to her.” The doctor interrupted. “It flew in and landed right in front of her. I tried to take it back, and it flew back to her.”

“It came to her?”

“Yes, it did. And ‘she’ is siting right here.” Felicity said annoyed.

The two sorcerers looked at one another, then at Felicity, then back at each other and then back to Felicity. “Have you had any strange dreams recently? Ones-“

“From a different time where I’m someone else?” Felicity finished for him. “Yup. And to answer your next question, yes I know what it means.”

“Umm…..what does it mean?” Spiderman asked.

“Yeah, what are you and the Hogwarts rejects talking about?”

“I’m a reincarnation. I don’t know how or why it keeps happening, but it does.” Felicity explained. “I’m guessing the book somehow knew that.”

“Sort of. It’s purpose is to help the masters of the mystic arts locate one of you two and bring you together. Have you found each other yet?”

“Nope.” She answered.

“Then, how do you know you are reincarnated?”

“Because apparently in one of my other lives I told someone what the deal was. She passed it on to her successor and so on. The current person ‘felt’ this whole cycle start and explained some of it to me. A few of my past lives have come back to me as dreams.”

It was silent for a moment before Tony burst out laughing. “That’s a good one, Smoakie. Not sure how you got these two in on it, and it seems far-fetched, but I gotta admit, it was funny.”  No one else in the room was laughing and he noticed Felicity, Wong and Strange all looked either angry or incredibly sad. “What, you can’t expect us to believe this? Reincarnation, seriously?”

“I mean, I’m not the only reincarnation walking around. There are two living in Central City. One of them used to be my barista.”

"Doesn't mean you're one." Tony argued. "I mean, magic I can somewhat understand. Infinity Gems, we know they exist, but reincarnation? Seriously? We're saying that's a thing now." 

Vision and Jennifer both suggested the group wrap-up the meeting regarding Rhodes' implant and surgery before any more talk about reincarnation, After some discussion and a conference call with Curtis, they had the surgery scheduled. EVeryone then dispersed, leaving Felicity in the meeting room with Strange and Wong. 

Wong began asking questions about her first life as a Roman slave. What her name was, where she was born, where she died, how she died, how she came to Rome, what caused her to take her own life. The sorcerer was about to ask about Jacob when FRIDAY informed them of a meeting that was supposed to start and Strange suggested returning to the New York Sanctum.

For the next few hours, Felicity and the two sorcerers discussed everything she knew about her past lives, which wasn’t much, and what exactly the book’s purpose was now that she’d been found. Apparently, with one soul found, it was meant to guide him or her to their other half. Although, it had never been very helpful or elaborative. For example, the last time it awoke, it told the Masters of the Mystic Arts that they could be found ‘where lost souls gather and death can be undone’. They never figured out what that meant, and the book went into hibernation a few months later. With even more confirmation that reincarnation was possible, and even more questions, she left for Starling that night.

* * *

 

**STARLING CITY-One Week Later**

Things went back to normal, or as normal as can be, for Felicity the day after she returned to Starling. The only thing left to do for Rhodey was building the actual implant, which would take a few days. She’d heard from Tony once and Dr. Strange twice. Stark had called her with additional questions on the chip. Strange was mostly interested in discovering how her search for her soulmate was going. They were awkward conversations to say the least.

Felicity and Curtis were wrapping up their weekly staff meeting. With several federal and international agencies interested in Felicity’s security software, Smoak Tech had been able to hire a handful of new employees after Felicity returned. The company’s water treatment project, aimed at improving the quality of drinking water in developing countries, was in fact ahead of schedule. Their clean energy projects were all still in development and the first of the three apps they’d brainstormed had already been launched.

After the meeting ended, Felicity began to pack up her things to leave.

“Going to the warehouse?” Curtis asked her knowingly.

“Uh yeah.” She said awkwardly. She didn’t want to ask how Curtis knew about the warehouse, it wasn’t Smoak Tech property, nor did it have anything to do with her night job. If everything went the way she wanted, no one else needed to know about what was inside.

“Are you ever gonna tell me what’s in there?”

“I really hope I never have to.” She admitted. “it’s a- let’s just say what’s inside is part of my ‘break glass in case of emergency’ plans. The only way you’re gonna see it is if something goes very, very wrong.”

The warehouse held some of the most potentially dangerous things Felicity had acquired or built. Slade’s skeleton key, copies of her ‘supervirus’, Rubicon’s code, and so on. It was also where she kept the two projects no one else, not even her team, knew about. One, which she simply called The Machine, was an AI she’d spent years creating and finished just before the Sokovia Accords were ratified. It wasn’t illegal due to a loophole in the actual Accords. A program had to meet all four criteria to be considered in violation of the law, hers only met three. The other program, which she didn’t have a name for yet, had a more specific application, it could locate any person anywhere on earth using a biometric tracker. There were risks with both programs, so Felicity wasn’t willing to use either unless she absolutely had to.

After her talk with both Nyssa and Sara, Felicity had begun a third project. This one wasn’t simply dangerous, it was potentially catastrophic. If it went wrong, according to her math, she could end up doing worse than anything that had happened already. It just didn’t seem fair to her, the fact that multiple people knew more about her past lives than she did. She wanted to change that. She didn’t necessarily admit to herself that she was building a time machine, but to an outside observer, she was. The machine itself was easy to build, figuring out how to make it travel through time was another matter entirely.

* * *

 

**Waverider**

Gideon ran the numbers again as the crew slept. By her calculations, Felicity Smoak would’ve just finished building the time-machine she internally referred to as ‘The TARDIS II’. According to the timeline, three months of failed attempts, the revelation of who her soulmate was, and another run-in with the Legends would happen between now and when the first successful use of the machine took place. All Gideon had to do now was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Bucky quite yet :(
> 
> I've decided reincarnation would be a step too far for Tony to suspend his disbelief.   
> What do you think will happen with Felicity's 'special projects'?  
> What do you think Gideon's involvement is?   
> What do you think will happen next?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olicity talks and it doesn't go too badly, Wanda and another fugitive make an appearance, an old face shows up, and Shuri's work has reached a critical juncture.

**Starling City-A few days later**

Felicity was about to leave the Foundry when Oliver stopped her. They were done with Arrow business for the day and Thea had already left. Thea’s ‘retirement’ from vigilante business lasted all of two months. Until, like the Clock King, a criminal who fancied himself a mastermind tried to make the Arrow choose between saving two different groups at the same time. Thea was convinced to help out just once, and realized after the fact that she missed being Speedy. Since then, she’d been patrolling with Oliver. Felicity was shutting down her computers when Oliver approached her.

“Hey, we need to talk. About us.”

“Wait, can I- I know you wanted to talk, but can I go first? I kinda- please don’t hate me- but I don’t think we should get back together.”

“You don’t?” Oliver’s voice was indecipherable.

“No. I mean, I liked what we had, I did. But it never quite felt natural to me. It always felt kinda….not forced but like we weren’t willing to admit it wasn’t working. I mean, I understand why we both were so committed to it, to us being a couple. After everything with the League, we both felt like what we’d gone through had to lead to something. It felt like we had to at least give us a try otherwise most of that stuff was kinda for nothing.” Felicity rambled. “But, looking back and having some time not in a relationship, I realized how much we were trying to kid ourselves and how much better we are as friends.” She didn’t bring up the whole ‘soulmate’ issue because frankly, it just would’ve made this conversation more awkward. “Please say something.”

“I agree with you.” Oliver said. “I did some thinking over the last few months too and I didn’t quite know how to tell you what I realized. I also- I met someone and we haven’t been on a date yet, but I didn’t want you to find out from someone else.”

“Is that why you wanted to talk tonight?”

“Yeah. I- I wanted both of us to talk about where we stood before I got involved with someone else. It wouldn’t be fair to anyone involved if we didn’t.”

“Well, no worries. I’m happy for you.” Felicity said, and she was happy for Oliver. He was first and foremost her friend and he deserved to be happy. “What’s her name? What’s she like?”

“Well, her name is Sandra. I met her during a public outreach event and we kinda hit it off.” The former fiances talked a little longer before going their separate ways for the evening.

 

The next afternoon, Felicity found herself at the Diggle house. Lyla had some sort of work emergency and asked Felicity to watch Sara while she dealt with it. Since the only work on Felicity’s schedule was answering emails and doing paperwork, she agreed. It was a little after five when Lyla came back.

“Thank you so much for helping me on such short notice.” Lyla said as she came in.

“No problem. That’s what aunts-slash-godmothers are for.” Felicity said. “Everything ok?”

“Just some….prisoner security issue. It’s fixed now.” She answered. “If you hang around for another half hour or so, Johnny’s supposed to be Skyping me.”

“Are you- I don’t wanna intrude on your time talking to him. I mean, I miss him but you’re his wife and-“

“That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want to talk to you.” Lyla pointed out. With very little effort, the agent convinced her to stay and talk to Digg. It was pretty nice to see and talk to him again. she told him all about some of her new Smoak Tech projects, and he talked a little bit about where he was at the moment. His unit was headed to Markovia soon. He didn’t elaborate as to why, but Felicity suspected it had something to do with either Ultron or Darhk.

* * *

 

**Turkey-One Month Later**

Yelena Belykov tensed as she heard several pairs of feet run past her door. Yelena, the newest alias of Natasha Romanov, had come to Istanbul a few days after the dust settled in Germany. The Accords Council was probably after her for attacking T’Challa, Tony wouldn’t have her back anymore and Steve had gone into hiding. With no other options, the spy went to ground and waited. She was hoping for either Clint to contact her, an opportunity to win back Tony’s trust or the Accords to be thrown out. So far, none of those things had happened. Clint and the others were in the wind, there hadn’t been a major threat or critical intel she could give Tony that would gain her protection and the Accords had more support than ever.

At the beginning of her self-imposed exile, Natasha had spent every second looking over her shoulder. Nothing happened, so she relaxed a little. She began feeling a little too safe where she saw, because yesterday someone followed her home. Or at least she believed so. There was no ambush and no attack waiting for her back at her apartment, but she felt eyes on her the entire way home from the store. Every time she looked back, she saw no one, but the moment she continued on her way, the familiar feeling of being watched started up again.

Natasha brought her attention back to the task at hand, looking for clues about where Steve was, when there was a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” She asked in Turkish. “What do you want?”

“Get out here, you little bitch!” A man, drunk by the sound of things, yelled through the door. “I know you’re in there Maria.”

“You have the wrong apartment. I don’t know any Maria”

“Do you take me for some kind of idiot? I know you’re in there! Come out before I make you!”

“Leave, or I’ll call the police.”

The man laughed. “You think the police will protect you? I own the police, or did you forget?”

Annoyed, and worried about catching the wrong kind of attention, Natasha walked over to the door. If she dealt with him quickly enough, none of the neighbors would get curious and she’d buy herself a few extra hours to get the hell out of Turkey. She opened the door to find two men standing there, with another figure standing behind them.

“I told you.” a female voice said. “So caught up in her own legend.”

“Who the hell-?”

The woman said something and Natasha felt something prick her in the neck. The trio at the door came into the apartment right as Natasha lost consciousness.

* * *

 

**Markovia**

Wanda rolled her eyes as she finished ‘correcting’ the store clerk’s memory. Being a fugitive because of the stupid Accords was getting tiring. Not only did she have to stay cooped up in an abandoned building during the day, but every time she went out for more food or other essentials at night, she had to erase the memories of everyone who’d seen her. She was starting to regret not using her powers to get a pardon. People yelled very loudly when she used her powers on them and it was starting to annoy her. 

 

“Gentlemen,” Colonel Adams said, addressing Digg’s unit, “you are probably wondering why you’re here. As you know, this unit is part of a joint-multinational task force formed following the ratification of the Sokovia Accords. Recent events have made the Council interested in Markovia. We are here in a support capacity while more informed people investigate. Any questions?”

“Sir.” Digg spoke up. “What recent events are you referring to?”

“Sightings, Sergeant Diggle.” A CIA agent in the room said. “I’m afraid that’s all you are cleared to know. I'm Agent Caldera, that's Harper, on loan from ARGUS, you'll be working mostly with us.” the agent pointed to someone behind the gathered crowd. They turned, and Digg was shocked.

"Roy?" He asked incredulously. "You're ARGUS?"

"Temporarily. Roy Harper isn't the Arrow, but he's still got some stuff to atone for. The US offered me a deal, I give ARGUS six months and I get to go home at the end of it." Roy answered. "And before you ask, we just made the deal yesterday, so don't get mad at Lyla."

* * *

 

**Wakanda-One Month Later**

T’Challa was frustrated to say the least. It had been several months since Barnes had gone into cryo, and while the removal of is triggers was progressing faster than he expected, they still hadn’t figured out what to do about his ‘extra’ memories. They felt rather personal, so no one watched any others than the one Shuri and T’Challa had. Still, the mystery remained.

“Not only do I get to go to Coachella for this,” Shuri said as she entered his office. “but you’re coming with me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“it’s done. All of Sergeant Barnes’ triggers have been removed. We can take him out of cryo.” She told him proudly. Then, she noticed the look on his face. “What? Is that not a good thing?”

“We still haven’t confirmed or denied the theory about his past lives.” The king pointed out. “There are still a few people I could ask, but it may threaten his safety.”

“You mean, there’s a chance they could tell the Accords Council or Tony Stark.”

“Yes, the few people I have left to ask have either been heavily involved with the Council or, at the very least, support the Accords.”

“You don’t need specific details though. You just need to know if it’s possible.” Shuri told him. “C’mon, let’s go wake him up.”

“Now? But what-“

“The words are out of his head, he’s free. I don’t think we should keep him under because of something that, as far as we know, isn’t a danger to us or him.”

Shuri and T’Challa made their way to Shuri’s lab. They sat in silence as the doctors began reversing the cryosleep process. After what felt like days, Bucky’s eyes snapped open for the first time in months. The doctors gave him a thorough check-up before leaving the trio alone in the lab.

“How- how long-?”

“About three and a half months. Thanks to Shuri here.” T’Challa said.

A long conversation between the three of them followed. Bucky wasn’t sure what he wanted at the moment, but he knew a few things he didn’t want. He didn’t want Steve to know he was awake yet, he didn’t want a new arm just yet, and he didn’t want to leave somewhere he felt safe since safety was rare for him. T’Challa told him he was welcome in Wakanda for as long as he chose to stay. It was decided that Bucky would go to the River tribe territory. He had mentioned that, if he was going to stay in Wakanda, he should learn more about the people and their culture. The River tribe territory was a good place to do that.

Bucky didn’t mention his ‘extra’ memories and the siblings didn’t bring them up. Until he said something or they found an answer, they put that problem on the back burner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, all that stuff happened. Who took Natasha? What will happen in Markovia? Most importantly, BUCKY IS AWAKE!!!!  
> Thoughts? Theories? Anything?
> 
> PS: I tried to make the Olicity scene as mutual as possible. I didn't wanna deal with pining and jealousy from Oliver in this story. It's gonna be healthier this way in the long run.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky sees some things, we remember history wasn't super great for women, T'Challa visits Tony and Nat isn't in Kansas anymore.

**Wakanda-One Week Later**

“Are you all right Sergeant Barnes?” Shuri asked after his lessons were over for the day. Bucky’s demeanor seemed off. He didn’t talk much, and his face wasn’t very expressive, but Shuri was rather intuitive and could tell something was different.

“Yeah, I just- I had this weird dream last night. I had dreams like that before- they started right before the fight at the airport, and I got another the day before I went back into cryo. I just- I can’t shake the feeling like they’re trying to tell me something.”

“What happened in the dream?”

“I’m a different person, living in a different time. last time it was Norway during the Viking age. The time before that it was ancient Rome. They always feel so real, I die in every dream and I can feel the pain when I wake up.”

“What time period was it this time?” Shuri asked. She needed to talk to her brother, now.

* * *

 

**11 th Century France**

Jehan, the blacksmith’s apprentice, was leaving the forge to fetch more water when he ran into someone. He was about to yell at the fool who ran into him when he turned and saw it was a child he’d collided with. The boy couldn’t be older than seven. He stayed upright while the boy fell down. His anger lost all momentum and he froze.

“What in the Lord’s name do you- are you injured?” were the exact words that came out of his mouth. The first part furious, the last concerned.

“You collided with me.” the boy said in a bratty voice. “It’s your fault I fell.”

“Roul? Roul!” A woman’s voice could be heard saying and the boy tensed. He was about to run away when a hand came down on his shoulder. “You cannot just run off. What would Father say?” the woman then noticed they weren’t alone. “I hope he has not been-“ Words left her as she looked from the boy to Jehan. “Bothering you.” she finished awkwardly.

“No, he has not.” He answered, transfixed by the woman.

Memories that were decades old came rushing back to him. Thrace, Shoshannah, his death in Rome. Norway, Stigr and Einarr play fighting as children, seeing Ingrid getting stabbed through the heart. She was experiencing the same thing. Her mother being torn away from her, watching Jacob die, her suicide. Feeding her family’s livestock, training with her mother, the summer raids.

“Forgive me.” Jehan said, snapping out of his reverie. “I am Jehan.”

“Cateline. This is Roul.” She said.

After their introduction, the pair met frequently. At first, Jehan just happened to run into Cateline when she went to the river to get water or travelled into the village for supplies. When he realized he wasn’t fooling anyone, he approached her father and asked for permission to court her. The man agreed, wanting his daughter married and knowing blacksmiths were an honorable profession. They married two months later.

Things were going as well as they could hope. The couple was happy and Cateline believed she might be with child. Then, the butcher’s family died suddenly. They went from healthy to a plague-ridden in just three days. No one else in the village got ill, so the villagers soon concluded it was witchcraft. There had been a dispute between Cateline and the butcher mere hours before they began to get sick, so suspicion fell onto her.

After another villager came across Jehan and Cateline ‘speaking in tongues’, discussing their past lives in Thracian, they were convinced she was a witch. She was burned at the stake as Jehan was forced to watch. Hours later, he could still hear her screaming, and he snapped. That night while everyone slept, he set the village on fire. Most of the village was now homeless, several people died, and when it was done, Jehan took his own life.

* * *

 

**Starling City**

Felicity turned the AC in her office down even lower. Last night, she’d had another past life dream. In it, she was burned at the stake. Ever since she woke up, she couldn’t stand being warm. When she closed her eyes, she could still feel the flames surrounding her.

“Hey Felicity, I have a question about- why is it like 30 degrees in here? Aren’t you cold?” Curtis asked.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

* * *

 

**Wakanda**

T’Challa and Nakia were walking through the capital together when one of his Kimoyo beads lit up.

“Brother, I need to speak with you.” A hologram of Shuri appeared and said. “Meet me in my lab in twenty minutes.” She then saw T’Challa wasn’t alone. “Sorry for interrupting your date.” She then closed the line.

After apologizing to Nakia, T’Challa and his guard made their way to Shuri’s lab. When they arrived, the teen was already there. As soon as the king entered, she began talking.

“Those memories of his, he has them as dreams. He had one right before the airport and another the day before we put him under. He had another one last night. He thinks they’re trying to tell him something.”

“So they are real, and he’s aware of them.” T’Challa said. “I suppose a conversation with Mr. Stark is long overdue.”

“You’re going to Tony Stark about this? He hates him.”

“Perhaps, but I need Stark to introduce me to Doctor Strange. He’s the person I need to speak to about this. I don’t plan on telling Stark much of anything.” T’Challa said.

* * *

 

**New York**

Tony had a calculatedly bored expression on his face as T’Challa’s aircraft landed. Inside, he was completely amazed at the technology he was seeing, but externally he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. For a split second, his mask slipped. As T’Challa, Okoye and another Dora Milaje disembarked, he schooled his features back to neutrality.

“Mr. Stark.”

“King Kitty-Cat.” Stark replied. “Long time no see. I wasn’t expecting your call.”

“Yes, well, ruling a country is very important work and I had matters that needed my attention.”

“And a group of fugitives you needed to keep wrangled.” Tony shot back. T’Challa gave him a questioning look. “Come on, seriously? You think I don’t know you’re hiding Rogers and his little band of idiots.”

“I’m not. He came to Wakanda briefly, that much is true. But he left after I refused to shelter his cohorts. Wakanda believes in the Accords, I was not going to give sanctuary to those who violate them.” T’Challa explained.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“Believe it, don’t believe it, that is your choice. The fact is, and if investigated I can prove it, I haven’t seen the captain since July.” The king answered. “I will be frank with you, I did not come to see you.”

“Then why are you here?”

“For an introduction. There are a few matters I need to discuss with someone who has knowledge of the mystical arts.”

“Strange.”

“Exactly. I have no way to contact him, but I suspect you might.”

“What ‘matters’ are they?”

“I’m afraid I cannot give you many details. It’s merely an inquiry about if certain things are possible.”

“Fine, I’ll call him.” Tony said.

Tony called Stephen. They talked for a few minutes. Seconds after the call ended, Strange appeared in the compound through a portal.

“Your Highness.” The sorcerer said.

“Doctor.”

“How can I help you?”

“Don’t have this conversation here.” Okoye advised T’Challa in Xhosa. “Everyone here doesn’t need to know what you’re asking about.”

The king agreed with her in Xhosa before asking Strange if he knew somewhere in the building they wouldn’t be disturbed. FRIDAY piped in and informed them of an empty conference room down the hall. Tony went to follow them, only to be stopped by the Dora.

“This matter does not concern you.”

“But-“

“Nothing. You will stay here.” Okoye went with T’Challa, the other one stayed to keep an eye on Tony.

“May I ask what this is about?” Strange asked as he took a seat.

“I have…questions. They are of a mystical nature and you are one of the few who can give me the answers I need.”

“Ok. Hit me.”

“There is a resident of Wakanda. Recent events have led some to believe this person may be a reincarnation. I want to know if that’s possible.”

“It is.” Strange answered. “but I’m not the best person to ask about this. I know someone who has more experience with this kind of thing.”

“Who?”

“Felicity Smoak.”

The Wakandans left New York and headed for Starling. They wondered how the CEO of a newly founded technology company knew more about reincarnation than the sorcerer supreme.

* * *

 

**Elsewhere-One Month Ago**

Natasha opened her eyes and groaned at the light. The world felt like it was spinning, so the redhead didn’t try to sit up or move until the wave of dizziness stopped. She felt the fogginess leave her mind as she stared up at the ceiling. After a few minutes, she moved into a sitting position and looked around. It was then she noticed she wasn’t alone.

“Where am I?” she asked.

“The worst place on earth.” Was the response she got. “Someone must really hate you, for you to end up here.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where do you think Natasha is? Where's Steve? What will happen next?


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> T'Challa meets Felicity.

**Star City**

Curtis was in the middle of a caffeine fueled building session when Gerry, Felicity’s EA, came running into the room.

“Mr. Holt, I’m sorry to interrupt it’s just- we kinda- there’s a situation.“

“What is it, Gerrry?”

“There are some people here. they want to speak with Ms. Smoak.”

“Who is it?”

“…You should see that for yourself.” the man said before bolting.

Intrigued, Curtis followed. He walked out into the office’s lobby to find the king of Wakanda and two intimidating looking women waiting.

“Hi,” he said trying not to freak out. “I’m Curtis Holt, VP of Smoak Tech. Gerry said you wanted to talk to someone.”

“I need to speak with Felicity Smoak.” The king said.

“Yeah, about that. she’s kinda…not here right now.” All three gave him unimpressed looks. “But I’ll call her, tell her to come back here ASAP. Just give me a second.”  Curtis went scuttling back to his office. Of course this would happen when Felicity was at her top secret warehouse and less likely to answer the phone.

“You need to get to the office.”

“I’m kinda in the middle of something Curtis.”

“The king of Wakanda is here.”

“What?”

“The king of Wakanda, and his two associates slash bodyguards I’m guessing are in the office, waiting for you. He won’t leave and he wants to talk to you.”

“Does he seem angry?” was Felicity’s first question. She’d interacted with T’Challa briefly only once, when giving testimony to the Accords Council. Their conversation didn’t last more than two minutes and she hadn’t been able to form an opinion of him.

“Amused and slightly annoyed would be a better description.”

“Ask him to wait in my office, I’m leaving now.”

Felicity came rushing into the building about fifteen minutes later. Gerry was the only employee still in the building and she sent him home when she arrived. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before walking into her office.

“Ms. Smoak” He greeted her.

“Your majesty.” She responded. “I’m not gonna lie, I have no idea why you’re here. I mean, not that you can’t be here, you can do whatever you want. It’s just- I don’t know why the king of Wakanda would come here to see me. Not that I’m saying you came here for no reason, it’s just- how am I still talking?” Felicity took a deep breath. “Sorry about that. How can I help you?”

“Reincarnation. I asked Doctor Stephen Strange about it, and he said you were the best person to speak with.”

“Ah, I see. And I suppose first you’d like to know why. It’s because I’m a reincarnation. My first life ended roughly two thousand years ago. This is the fourth or fifth life I’ve lived.” She stated.

“How can you verify someone is reincarnated?”

“Well, I had two different sects of ancient magic users tell me. And prove it. It also…. I started to see things, events from my past lives. Sometimes we just remember, sometimes something triggers it, sometimes we run into people we’ve known in other times.” She answered. “But I suspect you’re here because you think someone you know might be like me.”

“Yes, I have reason to believe he is.”

“Tell me a little more, you don’t have to be specific.”

“He began having strange dreams, of him living and dying in another time.”

“Did they start recently, the dreams?” Felicity asked, her voice indecipherable.

“He claimed to have two of them some months ago. Then, he fell into a coma and awoke last week. A few days ago, he had a third dream.” He answered. Felicity got a concentrated look on her face. “Does that mean something?”

“There are less than a dozen people I know to be reincarnations. Only about three souls are known to remember their past lives through dreams. Figuring out which one is the hard part.” Actually, there was only one other, her soulmate, but they didn’t need to know that.

“How do I do that?”

“You don’t, I do. I’m sorry, but the only way I can figure out who he was in the past and why he keeps getting reborn is to speak with him myself.” T’Challa opened his mouth to argue, but she kept talking. “I can’t ask the question I need to ask through an intermediary. I’d need his exact answers, not someone to paraphrase them. I also- it’s unfair of me to ask whoever this person is to relay intimate details of his lives, and in many cases, his deaths to you to give to someone he’d never met. Even though we got other chances to live, our deaths weren’t always quick or painless.”

“I promised him discretion.”

“I can be discreet and I’m very good at keeping secrets. Tell him I’m willing to help.”

“And if he chooses not to speak with you?”

“Then I suppose the sergeant is on his own.” The blonde said leaning back in her chair. What she had just revealed she knew was a risk, but a highly calculated one. T’Challa was nodding up until this point, but then froze.

“What do you mean?”

“Bucky Barnes, he’s in Wakanda. I’ve known since before my UN hearing.” She explained. “I didn’t say anything because one, he wasn’t technically a fugitive and two, who would’ve believed me.”

“Why do you believe we’ve been sheltering him?”

“One, Wakanda is one of the few countries with the technological advancements to possibly help him. Two, there’ve been plenty of sightings of Rogers and other ‘Team Cap’ members in the last few months but none of Barnes. Three, no one would think to look there. Four, you have a little bit of a tell. I noticed it when I was at the UN, and you just did it when I brought him up.”

“And how do you know he’s the person I’m here about?”

“It was a guess.” Felicity explained.  She knew it was him because she’d seen a face like his before, many years ago. “I know this isn’t the ideal situation, but I think the sooner he knows about this, the sooner he can start recovering from the other traumas he’s been through. Trust me when I say this whole being reborn thing is confusing enough when you aren’t also in the situation he’s currently in.”

“And what are your thoughts on Sergeant Barnes?” T’Challa made a promise to Bucky, a promise of safety. Even if Felicity was the best source of information, he wasn’t going to put the man in jeopardy if she posed a threat to him.

“If you’re asking me if I blame him for what he did under Hydra’s control, I don’t. I couldn’t get through reading all of his files, they’re horrific, but I read enough. He’s a victim, and in many ways, death would’ve been nicer than what he’s been through. He was on his own for over two years after escaping them and nothing happened. Then, he got dragged into the Accords debate and the Avengers in-fighting.”

“What exactly is your opinion, if I may ask, about the Accords and the so-called Civil War?” He hadn’t managed to gauge her opinion on the Accords yet. She cooperated with the Council so far, and offered her services to the joint task force as a consultant, but cooperation and compliance weren’t the same thing as support.

“I support the Accords in principle. There were issues I had with the original legislature, but what they stood for was something I could understand. They weren’t perfect, but they were a start. Accountability is important. Unfortunately, talks about the laws themselves got side-tracked.” She said carefully. T’Challa didn’t need a reminder if his father’s death. “The Civil War was stupid, for lack of a better term. Mistakes were made on both sides. Both teams involved people who didn’t need to get involved. Stark was uncharacteristically naïve to think he could talk Rogers down, especially where Barnes was concerned. General Ross certainly didn’t help matters. As far as I know, Rogers didn’t even understand the Accords before deciding he didn’t agree. There were issues with use of force. Rogers should’ve at least tried to tell someone about the other Winter Soldiers. And I don’t know exactly what happened in Siberia, but Stark shouldn’t have gone alone. Neither side was entirely right, but if I had to pick one, it would’ve been Stark’s. However, my opinion is biased. I’ve had a mildly strong dislike of Captain Rogers since before Ultron was created.”

“You have? May I ask why?”

“His and Romanov’s actions when SHIELD collapsed, specifically Romanov’s data dump. She didn’t just dump Hydra’s secrets, she dumped SHIELD’s. SHIELD had open investigations with other organizations at the time, including ARGUS, the CIA and Interpol, a lot of people were compromised, only about half were SHIELD.” Felicity started to say. “While they were high on having exposed Hydra, people were dying. Tony Stark, myself, dozens of others, we spent days trying to encrypt that information. People died, because no one in that situation stopped to think about what those files could do in the wrong hands.”

Felicity would never forget that day. It was the first, and only, time she’d heard Amanda Waller say ‘please’ or ask for something nicely. With a number of her agents exposed and at risk, the director reached out to every person she could, including Felicity. Sure, Waller was more focused on not losing the intel and ruining the ops rather than saving live, but as a consequence of encrypting that data, ARGUS agents were saved.

T’Challa was quiet for several moments. Felicity sat wondering if she’d just made a complicated situation worse or if he even believed her. He spoke again, and his response surprised her. “How soon can you be ready to leave for Wakanda?”

“Half an hour? it’ll take me maybe five minutes to pack and twenty or so to come up with something to tell people about where I’m going and why.”

Within the hour, Felicity was on a flight to Wakanda. She’d told Oliver, Curtis, and the others that she’d been called in by the Accords Council for something top secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter before the reunion!  
> Thoughts?


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reunion time.  
> (Or T'Challa isn't the only one who freezes)

**Felicity POV**

Felicity was trying, and so far succeeding, in keeping her inner science nerd at bay. The moment the blonde stepped onto T’Challa’s jet, she was mystified by the technology. This was years, if not decades, ahead of anything she’d seen so far. She was also fascinated by how it all worked. None of the standard mechanics or design tropes seemed to be used.

For the most part, the flight was quiet. Okoye and Ayo were flying the jet, T’Challa was doing king things and Felicity worked on paperwork she was supposed to finish last week. They were, according to Okoye, an hour from the border when T’Challa spoke.

“If I may ask, what is that?” He pointed to a hard case Felicity had brought with her. It was the only thing she brought with her that she insisted couldn’t leave her sight.

“It’s- I call it the Vault. It’s a collection of every items and resources I have related to reincarnation. Some of its mystical, some of its not. Hopefully, they’ll be enough to figure out both who he was in a past life and what his purpose is.”

She also brought a computer with remote access to her system. Felicity decided, while she was packing, that it was better to be safe than sorry. What if, while she was gone, she needed to access The Machine? What if the Council actually needed her for an operation? What if Colonel Rhodes, or the three other recipients of the biostimulant so far, ran into some complication? Being able to access her files would be the best way to deal with any of those situations.

“Purpose?”

“The universe likes balance. Day and night, life and death, et cetera. The Powers That Be wouldn’t let someone continually die and then live again for no reason. There’s always a reason. Sometimes it’s love, sometimes it’s righting a wrong, sometimes it’s because the first time around their life was so tragic. Any of those is preferable to what I call the ‘Kendra Scenario’.”

“What is that?”

“She was killed by the same person in every lifetime. She kept being reincarnated until she killed him. Problem was, every time he killed her, he got harder to kill.” Felicity explained. “As far as I know, that situation was unique to her, so I doubt that’s why the Sergeant is in this cycle.”

Soon, they landed in the capital of Wakanda. Felicity looked around as she exited the jet. She was completely mesmerized by her surroundings. The words ‘beautiful’ or ‘breathtaking’ weren’t enough to describe Wakanda.   From the mountains that surrounded Birnin Zana to the buildings themselves, there was something indescribable about how achingly beautiful it was.

“Ms. Smoak?” T’Challa said when he noticed she wasn’t moving.

“Sorry, I- this is the understatement of the century, but Wakanda is a very beautiful country.” Felicity said.

“It is. Come, Barnes is in my sister’s lab.” T’Challa said as he walked into the building. Felicity followed and tried not to gape at her surroundings. Felicity had just entered the lab when she heard a voice. A very familiar voice.

“Why did you ask me to come here?” he asked. She couldn’t see him, the king’s body was blocking her view.

T’Challa began to speak. “My sister told me of your dreams. There’s someone you should speak to.”

Felicity spent the flight, the entire flight, trying to figure out what she was gonna say when she saw Bucky. She came up with funny things to say, profound things to say, sweet things to say. As she stepped around T’Challa, however, the only word that came out was

“Hi.”

What she meant was ‘hello, my love’ and ‘I can’t believe you’re here’ and ‘please tell me you remember me’.

 

**Bucky POV**

Bucky was just starting to process the king’s words when he noticed there was someone standing behind T’Challa. When she stepped into view, Bucky’s heart stopped for a moment.

“Hi.” She said.

“Hi.” He replied still frozen. His greeting meant ‘they were real’ and ‘you came back to me’ and ‘I love you’.

As soon as the words came out, he began to cross the room. Someone, he didn’t register who, tried to stop him, but the blonde waved them away. She took a few steps towards him, and rested her forehead against his.

**_“I thought I would never find you again.”_** she said.

**_“I told you I loved you, in this life, in our past lives, in every life.”_** Bucky told her. **_“Shoshannah, I-“_**

**_“It’s actually Felicity now. Just as you are James and no longer known as Jacob.”_ **

“I take it they know each other.” The pair registered someone saying. Bucky turned to see Shuri smirking and everyone else giving a ‘explain, now’ look to the pair.

“Yeah, we do.” Felicity said smiling. “Oh, frack. Now I gotta call Nyssa.” When their eyes met, Bucky and Felicity had seen all their past lives, including the one Nyssa probably wanted her most to remember. That wasn't gonna be a fun conversation.

**_“Who’s Nyssa?”_ **

**_“I’ll explain later.”_** Felicity answered. “Anyway, so to answer your original question, your highness, yes, he’s a reincarnation.” She said before turning back to Bucky. “My very favorite reincarnation.”

“You’re her, aren’t you? The woman in Rome?” Shuri asked.

“How do you know about Rome?” Felicity said in a somewhat angry voice.

“We watched one of those memories, briefly, when I was removing his triggers and we discovered he had memories of another time period. As soon as it was clear it wasn’t Hydra related, we stopped.”

She instantly relaxed. “Oh. Sorry about the ‘grr’ it’s just, Rome was hands down the worst life slash death I’ve had. It’s a sensitive one for me.”

“You were burned at the stake once.” Bucky pointed out.

“Yes, but my life up until then wasn’t that bad, for medieval France.” Felicity justified. She then turned back to the others. “Thank you, King T’Challa for reuniting me with the love of my several lives.”

“Shos- Felicity, I….I’m not who I used to be. The things I’ve done, people I’ve killed-“

**_“Neither am I. Did you see on the news about Havenrock?”_** he nodded. **_“I’m the reason that nuke was sent there. I was supposed to stop it, but I couldn’t. so, now the deaths of 64,293 people are on my hands.”_**

**_“It’s not the same.”_ **

**_“Yes, it is. You weren’t given a choice in doing what they made you do. I understand your guilt, but that does not mean you’re irredeemable or unworthy of love. I have loved you in every lifetime, this one is no different.”_ **

“Still, I’m not- He gestured with his stump. Bucky didn’t quite know how to say it. His brain was messed up, he had tremendous amounts of PTSD and guilt. He didn’t feel like a full person. “I don’t even have all my limbs.”

“Yes, because after all, the reason I fell in love with you two thousand years ago, and have kept loving you for two millennia, wasn’t because you made me happy or anything like that. No, its because you had two arms.” She deadpanned. “And, full disclosure, I might have all my limbs, but my legs only work because of a breakthrough in medical technology.”

“Ms. Smoak, may we have a word?” T’Challa said. The pair had forgotten he was there. She nodded, and followed him to a corner of the room. Bucky could just barely hear their conversation.

“Did you know?”

“I suspected. I couldn’t be completely sure until I saw him face-to-face. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I should warn you, however, now that I’ve found him, others are gonna know.” The king had a panicked expression and she continued. “They’ll know we’ve met. They won’t be able to use our connection to locate him or anything. It’s more the universe is in balance now or something. Soulmate or not, I wouldn’t have come if it put anyone in jeopardy.”

“I appreciate your honesty.” They went back to where the others were. “Does this new development change your intentions Sergeant?”

“I mean, I can’t exactly just leave Wakanda. And I can’t ask Felicity to put herself at risk by sheltering a fugitive or ask her to give up her life to stay here with me, if you allow her to.” Bucky remarked. He wanted to be with Felicity but he also didn’t want to be selfish.

“Wakanda is no longer an isolationist country, Bucky.” Shuri reminded him. “She can visit.”

“And I’m very good a securing phone and internet lines, so even if I’m not here, we can still talk.” Felicity said. “Although, I would appreciate it if I could stay for a few days. We kinda have a lot to talk about.”

“My expectation was that you would stay in Wakanda for a few days, even before this revelation. Someone will take both of you to the River Province.” T’Challa said. “Now, if you will excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.”

“What breakthrough in medical technology?” Shuri asked. Bucky and Felicity gave her a confused look. “You said your legs only work because of a medical breakthrough, what is it?”

“It’s a bit of a convoluted explanation. I had a bunch of nanites injected directly into my spine which repaired some of the damaged, but still mostly intact, nerve endings. Then, I got a biostimulant implanted that replaced the permanently damaged nerves. On a nanosecond-by-nanosecond basis, it forces messages to be relayed between my brain and my legs, allowing me to walk.” Felicity answered. “My business partner could explain it better, since I don’t know a whole lot about biology or spinal surgery. I’m more tech oriented.”

“You are?” Shuri asked.

“Yup, and I’ve done a good job so far, I think, of not screaming about how amazing your lab is. I mean, this place….I don’t have words, for only like the second time in my life.”

Felicity and Shuri started talking about tech, and Bucky got lost in the conversation. He knew almost nothing about technology, but based on how they seemed, the two were getting along incredibly well. Their eyes lit up whenever they got excited about whatever they were talking about, and for Bucky, it was amusing to watch. Felicity realized, about two minutes in, that the princess was one of the smartest, if not the smartest, people she’d ever met. Their conversation ended when two of the Dora arrived to take Bucky and Felicity to the River Province.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy this happiness while it lasts, because Felicity can't stay in Wakanda forever.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Felicity's reunion is cut short, Steve makes a dumb decision, Natasha's situation is not what she thought, and the UN actually works rather efficiently, sometimes.

**Wakanda-River Province**

The next morning, Felicity woke up to the sound of children giggling. Last night, she and Bucky had stayed up until a few hours after sunset talking. They did, after all, have several centuries worth of memories to talk about. They decided to make things slowly, since they both had a lot to figure out. Felicity walked outside to find a group of children surrounding Bucky. They saw her and froze for a few moments. She waved and said hi, and then the spell broke. Some of the children then ran over to see her. One of them asked her something in a language she didn’t know.

“I- I don’t know what he just asked me.” Felicity said sheepishly.

“They ask if you are friends with the White Wolf.” One of the women nearby said. She pointed to Bucky to Felicity would understand who they were talking about.

“Oh. How do I say yes?” Felicity asked the woman. She didn’t want to seem rude by not answering. She also didn’t want to alienate anyone here by not at least trying to learn more about the Wakandan people and their culture.

The woman told her how to respond and introduced herself. From there, the woman taught Felicity a few standard phrases and words, such as ‘I am’, ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘thank you’. Bucky managed to break free of the children as the two women finished.

“You doing ok?” He asked her.

“Yup. Great actually.” She smiled.

Two days later, Shuri came to see Bucky. She wanted to discuss any lingering effects he felt from cryo and having his triggers removed. She was about to leave when one of her Kimoyo beads lit up. A few minutes later, Shuri walked over to Felicity.

“The Accords Council called for a meeting. They’re gonna call you in.”

“Why?”

“T’Challa didn’t tell me why. I guess they need your skills.”

“What do you-?” Felicity started to ask, then her phone beeped. It was a notification about the meeting. “Now they tell me. I’ll go grab my laptop.”

“It’s encrypted, right?” Shuri asked and Felicity nodded. “There’s a house on the edge of the village, Nakia said you could use it for the meeting. No one will disturb you there.”

“Thanks.” Shuri left and Nakia led Felicity and Bucky to the house.

* * *

 

**Amsterdam**

“You sure about this?” Sam asked Steve.

“We haven’t heard from Wanda in weeks. We have to- something could’ve happened to her.”

“Or she’s just not drawing attention to herself.” Sam rebutted. “’I get that you’re worried, but this, it isn’t gonna make our whole fugitive situation any easier.” He gestured to the building they were down the street from.

“Are you chickening out like Scott did?” Clint asked. “Let’s get this over with.”

The three men entered the old Interpol safehouse and got to work. The plan was simple. Get in, access Interpol’s network, see if they had Wanda or if there were any sighting, then get out. The plan was simple, but of course nothing went according to plan.

* * *

 

**New York**

“Why do we have to go to these again?” Tony asked Rhodey as they walked into the UN building.

“Because we’re the de facto faces of the Accords and the Council seems to think the others will take news better coming from us.” Rhodey answered. “It’s gonna be the same old thing. The Council patting themselves on the back for getting another country on board, brainstorming about how to find Team Crap, and then more arguments about amendments.”

“Team Crap? Really? I’m disappointed in you. Your snark used to be better.”

“I had PT this morning and I’m exhausted. Besides, they’re not worth a more inventive name.” Rhodey said as they entered the meeting room.

This meeting was not like the others. The second they walked in, Everett Ross started talking. “Good, now that we’re all here, we can get started.”

“We’re waiting on one of the video feeds.” One of the staff mentioned.

“No, we’re not. Sorry, my last video conference ran long.” Felicity said.

“Where are you right now? That isn’t your office, Smoakie.” Tony asked. She was sitting in front of a window, and the only thing visible behind her were trees.

“On vacation. I took a few personal days.” She answered.

“Anyway, there was an incident roughly 90 minutes ago in Amsterdam.” Ross interjected. “At approximately 12:30 pm local time, three men matching the descriptions of Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson and Clint Barton broke into an Interpol safehouse. They likely believed it was unoccupied or decommissioned. They accessed a computer inside the house, but were unable to find whatever they were after. They tripped a silent alarm inside, which alerted the closest Interpol office. Three minutes after entry, the door was broken down.”

“Were they captured?” the delegate from Romania asked.

“No, they did a great deal of damage during their escape, put an officer in the hospital and totaled two police vehicles.” Ross answered. “This presents a rare opportunity. We’re two hours behind them as opposed to six or eight. We could, if we play this right, locate and apprehend the so-called Rogue Avengers today.”

“What about the other ones?” a representative from Brazil asked. “Lang, Maximoff and Romanov?” No one, except Felicity that is, seemed surprised that Bucky wasn’t mentioned.

“They weren’t seen. Rumors have placed Romanov in Turkey, but those are months old and unverified. Lang was last seen, with them, in Switzerland last week. Maximoff is in either Sokovia or Markovia but we haven’t been able to find her yet.”

“Do we know what they were after?” Felicity asked. “You said they accessed a computer but didn’t have time to look up whatever they were after. Do we have an idea about what that might be?”

“No. They managed to access Interpol’s database, but were stopped before they could search it. All we got was ‘M-a’. we were hoping you could lend a hand.”

“Of course. But I don’t think I need to tell you how many results that will yield.” Felicity told them. She didn’t mention her biometric tracker, since she wasn’t sure it was necessary and didn’t want the Council to know about it unless they had to.

“It’s probably Maximoff.” Tony said. “None of the recent reports have her anywhere near the rest of them.”

“You think they want to find her.”

“Either that or they think we already have. It’s possible she chose to split with them. If she did, and she hasn’t made contact recently, Rogers would immediately assume we found her, arrested her and locked her up in another illegal prison.” The engineer said.

“General Ross’ arrest and conviction have been all over the news.”

“So were the Accords, and Rogers hadn’t heard of them.” Rhodey replied.

“Now that we’ve covered Amsterdam, any new business?” The chairman asked.

“Yes, the Green Arrow, his team and the Flash.”

“What about them?” Felicity asked. Subtly and sometimes not so subtly, over the last month, members of the council had started suggesting Felicity bring up the Accords to them. In her testimony, she claimed to know the Green Arrow. That made her the ideal liaison between the Council and the vigilantes.

“Will they sign?”

“They aren’t interested in dealing with quote ‘big threats’ end quote, they’re satisfied looking over Star City and Central City respectively. They don’t want their identities known. If you’re worried about another alien invasion or nuclear apocalypse, they’ll help to the best of their abilities. For right now though, they won’t sign the current version. If certain amendments pass, they’ll reconsider.” The only way they would sign was if they got to sign as Green Arrow, Speedy and the Flash, and got to control who knew their real names. 

* * *

 

**Elsewhere**

Natasha watched as, yet again, someone came into the room. They left two plates of food on the floor. Close enough to the prisoners so they could reach, far enough to keep from getting grabbed.

Natasha had stopped demanding to be let go after a week. She stopped trying to escape after her first failed attempt when she woke up back in her ‘cell’ with the other prisoner laughing his ass off. She then began asking her captors questions, yet it seemed none of them spoke English. Or Russian. Or Arabic. Or any of the three other languages she spoke. Maybe they were just ignoring her.

“Where am I?” Natasha asked, yet again. “People are looking for me. I’m a SHIELD agent and an Avenger, you-“

“No, you are not.” The guard said. “And you were on the run, so no one is looking that hard.” With that, the guard turned and left, locking the door behind them. Natasha was thrown for a loop by the response. Clearly, these people, whoever they were, knew more about her than she thought.

“I told you, Ms. Romanov.” Her only companion remarked. “Someone must really hate you.”

“Yeah, then who hates you that much?”

“Plenty of people.” He admitted. “However, unlike you, I can admit they might legitimate reasons to do so.”

* * *

 

**Wakanda**

“I have to go.” Felicity said as she closed her computer, not looking at Bucky. “I need to go back to Star City.”

“I know. And I’m sorry.”

“This isn’t your fault. Seems like every lifetime things just get in the way.”

“But it doesn’t make it easier that one of those things is that I’m an international fugitive-“

“Actually, you’re not. Rogers, Wilson, the rest of ‘Team Cap’, they’re fugitives. As far as I know, you aren’t. I mean, they didn’t even mention you once.” Felicity said. “But I know what you meant. And I don’t want easy, I want you.”

They left the house and headed back into the village. Felicity set about packing, and getting ready to say goodbye to Bucky. Two Dora Milaje arrived the next morning to collect Felicity for her trip home. Bucky came with her into the capital, not wanting to say goodbye just yet. Right before she got onto the plane, Felicity handed him an old-looking cellphone.

“I rigged it. It’s untraceable, unhackable, and I made the passcode something that it would be hard for anyone else to guess. I’ll call you.”

**_“Until the next time, my love.”_ **

**_“Until next time. I love you.”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I'm mean for splitting Bucky and Felicity up already. There is a method to my madness.
> 
> Where do you think Nat is? What do you think will happen next? What is Wanda up to?  
> Also, last chance to guess why Nyssa/the League are interested in Felicity's past lives.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyssa and Felicity talk, the UN makes a decision, things in Markovia change and one problem is dealt with.

**Star City**

Felicity, Oliver and Thea were sitting in the foundry. The Queen siblings were finishing up sparring and about to leave on patrol when Thea asked Felicity a question.

“How was your super-secret spy stuff?”

“What?”

“Ollie said you got called in on some Sokovia Accords assignment. How was it?”

“Fine. It didn’t have the resolution anyone really wanted and there’s a possibility I might have another one soon.” Felicity answered. That was technically true. She and Bucky didn’t really decide much of anything and she was sure she’d see him soon. “They’re starting to get annoyed you won’t sign.”

“We don’t fall under their purview.” Oliver reminded her.

“Yes, as I’ve told them. Multiple times. I can’t make them listen. I stalled, saying you were waiting to hear about the newest round of amendments.”

Patrol that night was somewhat eventful. A new drug had started appearing in Starling, so the Green Arrow and Speedy were trying to bust up the drug ring. Other than that, and stopping a carjacking, nothing happened.

 

When Felicity went home that night, things felt….off somehow. She couldn’t quite explain it. Part of it was nervousness about her trip, part of her felt like she was being watched and part of her felt like she was in danger. She tried to wave the feeling away as she moved into the kitchen. When she felt something move behind her, she knew she wasn’t alone. She grabbed the closest thing to her and threw it at the person.

Nyssa snorted and caught it. “A spoon? What did you think this would do?”

“Wasn’t sure. Maybe I hoped you’d think I was crazy and leave.” Felicity said.

“Still, that throw was impressive. Only people with very specific training could do that. I’m assuming you remember being Laila.”

“Yes, I do. You wanna explain why you’re so interested in my past lives now?”

“You already know why.”

“No, I know what being Laila has to do with the League and why Faiza cared. I don’t know why you do. The League was disbanded, by you, what good will your father’s predecessor’s wife be?”

“I’m more interested in him to be frank. The League has always followed those who’ve cheated death, as you know. You weren’t always a warrior, but he was. When word gets out about you two, and it will, they’ll come looking. But if I can prove I’ve already found you-“

“They’ll come to you instead, because you’ll be the gate-keeper. You get your army, we get some peace and the League has something to believe in.” felicity said. “I’m gonna pass.”

“Why?”

“I might’ve been pro-League in the past, but I’m not now. And he isn’t in the right place to deal with this kind of thing.”

“You found him?”

“Yes. That’s how I remembered her, me, Laila.”

“Very well. Although, I should inform you of something. A few things have changed since you were last in Nanda Parbat.” Nyssa said vaguely.

An hour later, Felicity didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry. Nyssa’s news for the most part didn’t interest Felicity. The League was being slightly more scrupulous, many of Malcolm’s followers had been dealt with, and no one was trying to poison an entire city. It wasn’t until Nyssa name-dropped a few of her prisoners that Felicity was interested.

 

The pair had just finished when Felicity’s phone rang. The UN wanted to meet with Felicity, face-to-face, the day after next to discuss her headway on locating Steve Rogers and company. The timing was fortuitous, as it gave Felicity both a way and a reason to ask about Bucky’s status.

The next morning, a few hours before Felicity had to catch her flight, she was working in her office when a Skype notification popped up. Not thinking about it, Felicity hit answer. She was surprised to see Shuri and Bucky’s faces appear. Before they could speak, felicity held up a finger and ran to shut the door.

“Sorry, didn’t want to be overheard. Hi.”

“Hi.”

“You two are so cheesy.” Shuri said rolling her eyes. “Anyway, now you know how Skype works Bucky.”

“Thank you.” he said to her as she walked away. “Sorry, I know its only been like two days, but-“

“You wanted to see me. Line forms behind me.” Felicity said smiling. “You picked a good time. I’m leaving in the next two hours.”

“And going where?”

“New York. There are questions, mostly about you and I need to ask them in person. The UN also wants to have an in-person meeting with me. It’s about Steve.”

“They still looking for him?”

“Yup. And after what happened, they’re in a hurry to do it.” Felicity said. “I’d rather….not talk about this.”

“Yeah, I sensed that. So, other than your miracle chip, what other stuff have you built?”

“Water purification system, a few clean energy things. I wrote a great deal of code to encrypt data for different agencies. Right now, I’m working on something else though, something different.”

“Like what?”

“Not really sure yet. The base code’s pretty generic thus far, so it could do anything.”

“Ms. Smoak?” a female voice that didn’t sound quite human to Bucky said. “If you wish to be on time for your flight, you should leave in the next fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks.” Felicity responded. “I’m sorry, I gotta go. I’ll call you later, ok?”

Bucky nodded and they signed off.

* * *

 

**New York**

The Accords Council was about to wrap up for the day when the chairman spoke. They had, after hours of debate, come to an agreement on a few amendments to the Accords. One outlined what to do in a situation where the enhanced individual was legally a minor. The other concerned individuals who didn’t want their identities known.

“Before we adjourn, any last minute, new business?”

“Yes.” The delegate from Canada said. “I wish to discuss the matter of Sergeant Barnes. He isn’t a fugitive, we aren’t looking for him like the others, and we can’t continue to avoid the question when asked. He should at least be informed that he’s a free man.”

“We don’t know where he is and, since we aren’t charging him with anything, we haven’t tried very hard to find him.” the delegate from Brazil responded.

"He still has a right to know." The delegate was also tired of being accosted by reporters yelling about Barnes every time he left the building.

“What do you suggest?” the chairman asked.

“We release a statement. ‘After much consideration we’ve decided not to charge him for what happened in Romania and Germany. And so on. He should find the closest US embassy to discuss the matter in more detail.’ The press, the American press at least, will pounce on that in an instant and wherever he is, he’ll find out about it.”

“And when the press ask about Rogers?”

“We tell them no determination has been made.” The Canadian answered. “If we’re lucky, the announcement might draw Rogers out of hiding.”

* * *

 

**Markovia**

“How are there this many abandoned buildings in a country this small?” Roy wondered as he and Digg’s unit searched yet another empty, abandoned warehouse and found nothing useful. Some sighting had been called in earlier that day, so the team was sent to check it out.

“Markovia’s the second poorest country in Europe. I’m frankly surprised there aren’t more abandoned buildings for us to search.” One of the other soldiers said.

“You grew up in the Glades, man. This place isn’t really that different.” Digg pointed out.

“Yeah, except there were at least people squatting in the abandoned buildings back home.” Roy defended. “These are all empty and abandoned and that’s a little freaky.”

Digg then noticed something move out of the corner of his eye. Whatever moved froze as soon as he stiffened. In unison, Roy, Digg and another soldier turned towards the person. They weren’t able to see who it was, but they were able to catch the person ducking down behind something.

“Put your hands where I can see them.”

“I think not.” A voice said. “You’re going to let me go.”

“The building’s already surrounded.” Digg said. “Look, just come out so we can talk.”

Then, things went sideways.

* * *

 

**New York**

It turned out Felicity didn’t need to ask the UN about Bucky’s status. During her flight, the Accords Council, and by extension the UN, had made an announcement: Bucky Barnes wasn’t a fugitive. The UN had tried to locate and inform Barnes of this fact earlier but hadn’t had any luck doing so. Their announcement included ways Bucky could contact the UN to get more information and discuss the matter in more detail.

The blonde got off the plane to find 27 texts, six voicemails and two very long emails waiting for her. The calls and texts were from Bucky, with the exception of one from Sara. The emails were another matter. One was from the Accords Council, outlining what the announcement meant going forward and what the next steps would be. The second one was from Tony. He wanted to meet with Felicity, and the New Avengers, within the next two days. He claimed some of it had to do with Barnes, while some of it didn’t.

Felicity called Bucky’s burner as soon as she got off the plane. “Hey.”

“Hi. I’m- I can’t-“

“It’s weird, isn’t it? You thought you’d never be allowed to go home.” She filled in for him.

“Yeah. I don’t know if- I might not be ready. To come back yet. I just- being around people might not be the best idea. I mean, the UN might not think I’m a criminal, but I am. What if- what if I come back, and something happens, I get spooked or something?”

“I don’t know. This is something you should talk to the Council about. They provided a number to call, in case you didn’t feel comfortable going directly to the embassy. It’s a nice middle ground, you aren’t ignoring the announcement but you also aren’t committing to anything.”

“And if I decide not to come back to the US?”

“Then we figure it out.” Felicity answered. “Most of our problems just got solved, we can figure out the rest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Bucky used to be Ra's al Ghul. And now he's FREE!  
> What happened in Markovia? How will the others respond?  
> What do you think will happen next?


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve reacts to the UN's announcement, someone reaches out, Felicity has a confession to make, and bad news arrives.

**Denmark**

“Cap, you’re gonna wanna see this.” Sam said as he kept his eyes on the TV.

“-go live to our own Robert Sampson in the field. Robert?” An American news anchor said right as Steve walked in.

“Thank you, Anderson. Now, two hours ago, the United Nations, more specifically the Sokovia Accords Council released a statement regarding Sergeant James Barnes. It reads in part that Sergeant Barnes is not a fugitive of the United Nations. The Accords task force is not and has not been looking for him following Helmut Zemo’s arrest for the Vienna bombing. It states he was not, and never has been, considered in violation of the Accords. It goes on to explain that he is a free man and he’s free to return to the United States, if he chooses, at any time. The press release ends with a number of ways Barnes can contact the UN to discuss the situation.”

“Does the statement mention why they are releasing this information now?” Anderson Cooper asked.

“It does not. However it is possible they were waiting for the ICC’s determination on the events in Romania and Germany before saying anything.”

“Is there any mention of the so-called Rogue Avengers, or ‘Team Cap’ as they’re known on social media?”

“No. This statement concerns Barnes and Barnes alone.”

“Turn it off.” Steve told Sam. “It’s a trap. They’re trying to draw him out.”

“Why go public then?” Scott asked. “If he’s on the run, its easier to justify trying to bring him in or bring him down.” Scott was starting to wish he was the one being cleared. He wondered what would happen if he just turned himself in now.

“He’s not on the run he’s- it doesn’t matter where he is. He’s innocent, so are we and sooner or later, everyone’s gonna see that the Accords are wrong.” Steve defended. “We just have to wait until Ross and the government-“

“The UN is not a government. And Ross has nothing to do with it.” Scott scoffed as he left the room.

“Hey, give him time.” Sam said as Steve tried to follow after him.

Steve was about to reply when his phone rang. “Tony?”

* * *

 

**Markovian Border**

Wanda looked around anxiously. After last night, she needed to get out of Markovia. Leaving Steve had been a huge mistake. They should’ve stuck together. Alone, she didn’t have anyone watching her back. If she hadn’t left, she wouldn’t have almost gotten caught last night, and she might not have had to do what she had to do.

Before she left Belgium, she wrote down the number to that flip phone Steve carried around with him everywhere. She told herself that she was memorizing the number just in case, that she’d be fine on her own, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Sighing, she dialed the payphone in front of her and waited.

“Tony?”

“It’s not Stark.”

“Wanda?” Steve asked.

“I messed up. I need your help. Badly.” Wanda told him. “They- I- they almost caught me.”

* * *

 

**New York**

Felicity was leaving one of the labs when she almost walked right into Vision. Since it had been more than a month since Rhodey’s surgery, the blonde thought it was a good time to do a follow-up diagnostic on the chip as well as get some feedback from the lieutenant about how the device was working. The meeting Tony had called hadn’t happened yet. She was thinking about it quite a bit, and wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, causing her to jump and yelp when he appeared and spoke.

“Are you all right, Ms. Smoak?” the synthesoid asked.

“Gah! Yeah, I’m fine. I just- have you been standing there this whole time?”

“No. My apologies for startling you.”

“It’s fine. I’m just a really jumpy person.” She answered. He nodded and continued walking with her. they reached one of the common areas, and Felicity realized she hadn’t really talked to Vision one-on-one before. This was her chance to get to know him. “Can I ask you something?”

“You may ask. I will not promise to answer.”

Vision wasn’t trying to seem aloof or vague; his response was more in the interest of self-preservation. In the year since his ‘birth’ he thought he was getting better at understanding human nature and human behavior. Over the last few months however, he’d realized the behavior of Tony, Rhodey and the others was a rarity among most people. Various individuals, task force members included, seemed to believe that since he wasn’t human, it was okay to ask him incredibly inappropriate questions. He still refused to be in the same room as, or speak to, the agent who asked him if he had a penis. Vision may not have been human, but he was still a sentient being and had a right to privacy.

“Ok. I was just gonna ask what you’re making.” She pointed to the collection of used dishes in the kitchen. Food seemed like a safe place to start. Very few people had serious opinions about food in general. “Because it smells really good.”

“Thank you. It’s baba ghanoush. I’ve been experimenting with cooking, but there have been some setbacks.”

“What kind of setback?”

“I….do not have taste buds, and they are rather useful for cooking.” He said slightly embarrassed.

“May I?” She gestured to the dish where the finished product was. Vision nodded, so Felicity grabbed a spoon and took a taste. “You’re actually very close. The taste is perfect, but the consistency isn’t quite right. It’s a little too thick. At least, compared to the way I used to make it.”

“When did you learn how to make that?” She-Hulk asked as she came into the room.

“I spent a lot of time in the Middle East in one of my past lives. Back then, every woman learned how to cook.” The blonde answered. Back when she was Laila and Bucky was the 16th Ra's al Ghul, baba ghanoush was something she made a lot of. “Next time, just blend it for about 30 seconds longer.”

“Thank you, Ms. Smoak.”

“Oh, and call me Felicity.” She turned back to Jennifer. “How’s it going, Jen?”

“Things are okay. My actual job is fine, working on amendments to the Accords are- well, I’m a few days away from saying I actually miss the DA’s office.”

“That bad?” In the years she was friends with Laurel, Felicity was to figure out a few things about the DA’s office, or at least Starling’s DA’s office. One was that it was a very stressful place to work. Another was that Laurel got so agitated with how the office ran sometimes that nearly quit to reopen CNRI half a dozen times.

“That tedious. I never thought I’d be ‘that’ lawyer that spend an hour in a meeting debating what the word ‘is’ means, but here I am.” She responded. “Between trying to fix the Accords and the situation with Barnes-“

“What about him?” Tony asked walking in with Rhodey. He didn’t seem angry, not the way he acted when Steve was mentioned, but he did seem upset. Given what Bucky had told her about Siberia, Felicity wasn’t surprised. The Winter Solider had killed his parents, and one of Stark’s own teammates kept it from him on purpose. Tony stuck a finger into the food Vision had made. “Not bad, Viz. What is that, hummus?”

“Baba ghanoush, although it is similar to hummus.”

“He called the number the UN gave. From what I know, he understands the gist of the announcement but knows there were things the UN left out of that press release.” Jen answered. “He hasn’t committed or agreed to anything yet, but they’re seeing it as a start.”

“How does that involve you?”

“While he may not be a fugitive, the Council does want some…measures in place if he returns to the United States. They aren’t comfortable with someone who’s undergone that much trauma not being required to get treatment before being released onto the general population so to speak.” Jen said. “They have me and a few others working on the legalese of those measures and how to actually implement them. There’s also a question of where Barnes could receive said treatment.”

The implication hung in the air. The UN would try to send Barnes to the New Avengers Compound, arguing that between BARF and the abilities of the individuals training there, that Barnes would both be safe and be around people able to stop him if he had some kind of flashback.

“We don’t need to talk about this right now, you know.” Rhodey said, mostly to Tony.

“It’s fine. Barnes- he’s the one I’m least mad at. Not his fault his best bud is a thick-headed idiot.” It was true. In the few months since Siberia, Tony had processed what happened and what he’d seen. After enough time had passed, some therapy and the shock of the video wearing off, Tony could admit that HYDRA killed his parents. He and Barnes may never be friends, but he could acknowledge the man had been through hell. His anger was directed at Rogers, Romanoff, Wilson, Maximoff and Barton. Lang barely registered in his mind. They were the ones who refused to listen, to even discuss the Accords and proved to the world why such laws were needed. “And I hate to admit it, but the UN may be right to send him here. That’s why I called the meeting. They’ve already asked me to house him here, if he returns to the US.”

“Do you want to just wait for the others? Strange and Spiderman I mean?” Felicity asked. she had a confession to make, and making it once seemed like the best idea.

“No need.” Strange said as he appeared through a portal.

“And Spiderboy isn’t coming.” Tony said. “Let’s get this over with. We all received the message from the Council and-“

“I have a confession to make.” Felicity blurted out. “There’s a chance, a rather large chance, that the soulmate I’m looking for is Barnes.”

“How do you-“

“Because I’ve seen his face before, years ago. On someone that wasn’t him. The gladiator I fell in love with in Rome, he and Barnes could be twins.” She said quietly. “I mean, I haven’t confirmed it, but- yeah. It seemed fair for you all to know about this.”

“You and I should talk after this.” Strange said looking at her closely.

“So, he’s your soulmate?”

“Maybe. Probably, based on what that flying book of sorcery kinda said. The phrasing is vague, but Barnes could fit what its describing.” The blonde said. “Keeping you all in the dark, especially those of you involved in what happened a few months ago, seemed like a bit of a dick move. It’s unfair of me to allow this team or whatever it is to make a decision without everyone knowing something like this. Some of you have some very understandable and legitimate reasons to be against the UN’s decision. Finding out the truth later could’ve ruined what we’ve been trying to build.”

It was silent for a moment as everyone struggled for something to say. Strange and Jennifer weren’t sure how they felt. Vision and Rhodey were both waiting for Tony’s response. Vison, because he was unsure of what his response should be and Rhodey because he’d backup Tony’s play, whatever it might be. Tony, meanwhile, was having a Moment. Felicity had, in simply trying to avoid future conflict, done the exact opposite of what Rogers spent months doing. She told the truth, even though it wasn’t pleasant, knowing the conversation might not end the way she wanted, and, unlike Rogers, didn’t try to wave away or minimize the issue.

“Thank you, for being honest with us.” Vision eventually said.

“Tony?” Rhodey asked when the engineer was seemingly frozen.

“I gave the UN a ‘maybe’. Said I needed to discuss it with everyone, that I wouldn’t decide for everyone else.” He sounded a bit dazed. “Anyone want to add anything?”

Stephen asked a question about security measures, which brought Tony back to the present. The surgeon was curious about what they would do in case Barnes lashed out or had an episode. This led to a real conversation about what the UN proposed, what Tony wanted to add to their proposal and how everyone felt about the day’s events. Emotions did run high, but it was an overall healthy debate. There wasn’t screaming or anyone trying to talk over anyone else. Tony’s maybe was changed to a tentative ‘yes’ provided Bucky understood fully and agreed to the conditions they set out.

“Ok, next order of business. Star City and Central City.”

“I haven’t had a chance to go over the new amendments with them.” Felicity said. “I just finished reading them on the flight over. The Flash will likely sign. Speedy will be next. The Green Arrow may be a hold-out for a little longer.”

“Why?” Jen asked.

“Pretty much every time someone has learned of his identity without his consent, someone close to him gets hurt. Or dies.” Tommy died, Moira died, Sara ‘died’, Thea was attacked, Roy got arrested and faked his death, Laurel died, Felicity was paralyzed, William was kidnapped, the list was rather long. “He just needs to see for himself that this isn’t some trick.”

“That’s fair.”

The meeting ended, and everyone except Felicity and Vision dispersed. The pair were talking about cooking, and Felicity was giving him some pointers when the blonde’s phone rang.

“Hello?....Lyla, I need you to calm down…..what? What?!.....I’ll get there as soon as I can.” She hung up and stood up. “I- I need- do you have a driver’s license?”

“I do not. Are you all right?”

“No, I- I need to go. I need to get to the Bethesda Naval Hospital. Like now.” She stood up and started to rush down the hallway.

“Smoakie, where’s the fire?” Tony asked as she rushed past him.

“I- I need to go. I have to get- fuck, I should’ve learned to fly a damn helicopter or something.”

“Woah, woah, woah. What’s going on?” Tony asked, dropping his joking act, concerned.

“My- he’s kinda like my brother, he and my friend- something happened and they’re in the hospital. I need to get to Bethesda Naval.”

Within twenty-five minutes, Felicity was on a plane flying to Maryland. The words Lyla had said were running through her head the entire time: Roy and John are being flown to Bethesda Naval Hospital, something happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think happened? What will happen next?
> 
> I've made a decision about the name 'Ra's al Ghul'. Since in the Arrowverse, its a title, I've decided to have it work like this: the 6th Ra's al Ghul is the 6th person to hold that title, the 7th one replaced that guy, and so on. It's easier than referring to any and every person as just 'Ra's al Ghul'


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out what happened to John and Roy. Also, Bucky makes a decision.

**Bethesda**

Felicity got to Maryland a few hours before Lyla did. She sat in the waiting room until Lyla arrived, the blonde wasn’t quite ready to know what happened. Lyla spoke quietly with the doctor before storming over to a man in a military uniform and practically dragging him into another room. She returned about ten minutes later and sat down next to Felicity.

“Thank you, for getting here so quickly. Roy put you down as his sister on his medical forms and I just- I needed someone here, in case-”

“John’s my family too. There’s nowhere else I’d be.” Felicity answered. “I know it’s all top-secret, hush-hush, but are they ok?”

“They’re both banged up, lacerations, internal bleeding which they’re working on repairing and so on.”

“What happened?”

“They don’t know. His team was sweeping an abandoned building, they found someone. No one knows what happened next, because only Roy, John and one other person survived. From what they can tell, the building exploded or collapsed. They stabilized them in Berlin before flying them here. They also- some of the doctors think they might’ve been exposed to a drug of some kind. When they were taken to Berlin, they were all out of it and had to be sedated. No one quite knows what’s gonna happen when they wake up.”

“Where were they?” the blonde asked, suspicious.

“Still in Markovia.”

“I know what happened. Wanda Maximoff happened.” Felicity was pissed. “There’ve been sightings of her there. They probably found her and she thought they were gonna arrest her. You saw what she did in Nigeria, that was an accident. Imagine if she meant it. She made the building explode. She also can mess with people’s heads, that’s how she got a lot of people out of Sokovia when Ultron happened. It explains both the injuries and the behavior.”

“This is weird territory, even for ARGUS.” Lyla said. It was quiet for a moment.

Felicity stayed with Lyla until a doctor came by and told them John was awake. The brunette went to see him, while Felicity hung back. A minute later, someone told her Roy was awake. After a short visit, the blonde headed back to Starling. She had a fugitive to find. She also called The Compound, said she needed a few days off.

* * *

 

**Starling**

Oliver was woken up out of a dead sleep when his phone rang. “Hello?” he asked groggily.

“I need you to do something for me.” Felicity said in a no-nonsense tone.

“It’s 4AM.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s an emergency. I need you to go to the warehouse at 18th and Adams. The access code is the first one we had at the foundry.” She said. “Once you get inside, go to the very back, there’s a door with another access panel. Type in the numbers 8114. Answer the security question. Then, turn all the computer screens on.”

“How am I gonna know the answer to the security question?” Oliver asked.

“Trust me, you know the answer.” Felicity responded. When she set up The Machine, she wanted to be sure members of Team Arrow, and only a few select others, could use it. So, she gave each person a unique code to get inside the room and a pool of tailored security questions. Oliver, Digg, Sara and Thea’s questions revolved around significant memories she had with each of them.

Two hours after getting the phone call, Felicity came into the room she’d directed him to.

“Did you really make ‘Are you spinning?’ the answer to your super-advanced security system?” were the first words out of his mouth. The question, or rather phrase, that had popped up when he entered the code was ‘Digg gave me some of those aspirins…’.

“One of them, yeah. I had to pick something you’d remember and not a lot of people knew the correct answer to. It’s randomly generated.” Felicity defended. “If you want to leave, you can.”

“What are you even doing?”

“Hunting Wanda Maximoff. She’s made a very big mistake.” Felicity answered as she typed.

“What mistake?”

“She made me angry. Like Isabel Rochev angry.” She said through clenched teeth. “I can’t tell you anything more than that. For now.” She looked at the screen in front of her. Wanda Maximoff wasn’t difficult to find after all. “Gotcha.”

* * *

 

**Bethesda**

Lyla was sitting in John’s room. They’d just wheeled John out surgery and the director wasn’t leaving until he woke up again, at least. after some debate, Lyla had convinced the staff to let Roy and Digg share a room. She was pulled out of her reverie when two people she’d met before, but never together, came into the room.

“Lyla Michaels, right?” one of them asked. It was Everett Ross.

“Yes. Can I help you?”

“On behalf of the United Nations task force, I’d like to extend my-“

“He’s not dead. Get to the point.” Lyla said in a voice so harsh that Tony Stark actually took a step back.

“Has he told you anything?”

“No. Now get out.”

“Where’s Felicity?” Tony Stark asked. “I gave her a lift here and she vanished.”

“She went back to Star City. Didn’t say why.”

A strangled noise, that sounded sort of like a laugh came from the other bed. The group moved over to Roy’s bed. “I kinda feel bad for her now.”

“For Felicity?”

“No, Maximoff. Blondie’s gonna tear her apart.”

“Wanda Maximoff caused this.” Ross asked and Roy nodded.

“What are you-?” Tony began to say. “Smoakie can’t reach the top shelf, never mind destroy someone.”

“You’ve clearly never heard her Loud Voice.” Digg said from behind them. “Felicity Smoak is one of the smartest, most badass women on the planet. And Maximoff almost just killed two of her friends. She’s not getting out of this unscathed.”

Ross and Stark both looked ready to say something when Lyla stepped in. “Until she has information that can help you, Felicity’s not gonna share with the class. It’s personal now.”

* * *

 

**Star City**

Felicity was still in her secret warehouse when her phone rang. She’d located Wanda Maximoff and set her AI to alert her any time Maximoff crossed a border. The only thing left was to figure out how to contain Wanda’s powers. The collar at the Raft had worked, but it was now at the bottom of the ocean, and objectively, it was a little inhumane. Felicity was trying to find a better solution to the issue.

“Hello?” the blonde said not looking at the caller ID.

“I think I’m gonna do it.” Bucky said into the receiver. “I’m gonna take the UN up on its offer.”

“Are you sure?”

“Someone here already explained the Accords to me, the lawyer they had me talk to answered most of my questions and I miss you.”

“I understand that, but- I don’t want you to rush into this. Not for me.” she admitted sighing. “Do me a favor? Wait a week, just to be sure. Today and tomorrow it might feel right, but six days from now, it might not.”

“I- I thought you’d be happy.”

“I am. I want nothing more than for you to come home, but I can’t be selfish right now. You- this is your second chance, I won’t ask you to screw it up or rush into it because of me.”

“I’ll call you later then.” He said before saying goodbye and hanging up.

She worked for another hour before throwing in the towel for the day. She was leaving the building when Sara appeared out of nowhere.

“Didn’t you get my message? I have a time-space emergency. I need your help. You’re coming with me.” The other blonde said as she pushed Felicity towards a metal craft that looked kinda familiar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Questions? Theories?


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's first time on the Waverider is nothing like anyone expected. (AKA Gideon's plan is revealed and time travel is a little confusing)

**Waverider**

“Okay, I don’t know what this is about,” Felicity said as Sara dragged her through the corridor of the Waverider, “but you need to send me back to like five minutes after you grabbed me, ok? It’s super important.”

“Maintaining the space-time continuum is a little more important.” Sara said as she continued to walk.

Felicity screeched to a halt. “Sara. It’s important. Five minutes later. Got it?”

Sara stopped and analyzed the look on Felicity’s face. She hadn’t seen the hacker look that serious ever before. “Yeah, five minutes later. You got it.”

“Good.” Felicity relaxed slightly. “Now, what’s your spacetime emergency?”

“It’s hard to explain. According to Gideon, we’ve arrived at some fixed point or something and until whatever needs to happen happens, our time drive won’t work.” Sara admitted. “We can’t travel through time.”

By now, they had reached the bridge where the rest of Sara’s team was waiting.

“She’s gonna fix the ship?” a man Felicity recognized as one of the criminals Barry fought, Mick something, asked.

“Maybe.” Felicity said sounding unsure. “I mean I’m good with tech, but I’m not ‘fixing a time machine from the future’ good. To be honest, I’m pretty sure Jax would be better. I mean, Sara told me you do all the mechanical work on the ship.”

“We thought so too, but Gideon insisted. It has to be you.” Nate said.

“As I told Mr. Jackson, the issue is not mechanical.” Gideon announced. “Ms. Smoak is the most capable of resolving it. I cannot say any more than that.”

“Why not?” Ray asked.

“My programing has two primary directives. One is to maintain the timeline. The second is known only by my creator. Explaining why violates both directives.”

Felicity’s eyes bugged out as soon as Gideon began speaking. “Ok, this- this is too weird. Even for me. Best of luck to all of you, but I’m gonna go.” She turned and walked away. Gideon’s voice meant one of two things, neither of which Felicity wanted to think about right now. It was familiar, uncomfortably familiar.

She soon reached the door of the ship and tried to open it. “Let me out.”

“I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

“Why not?”

“My creator instructed me not to.”

“I’m your creator! And I’m ordering you to open the door.” Felicity practically yelled. A door opened, but it wasn’t the door Felicity was standing in front of, it was behind her.

Turning, the blonde saw a door had cracked slightly open. It was so well-hidden, she guessed none of the crew members of the Waverider knew of its existence.

“Before I open the external door, it is important you see what this compartment holds.” Gideon said as the blonde was staring at the door, debating whether to enter.

“Fine.” She sighed before entering the room. The room looked to be completely empty. The walls were bare, there was no furniture, no machinery, nothing inside. “You wanted to show me an empty room?”

“Voice sample: match. Identity confirmed: Felicity Megan Smoak.” An automated voice, much more robotic than Gideon’s, said. “Recorded message to begin in three, two, one.”

A hologram popped up out of the floor. Felicity stared at it for a few seconds before blinking and saying, “Is that- She’s-“

“Felicity, if you’re watching this, I imagine you’re rather confused by what you’re seeing right now.” The hologram, who looked exactly like Felicity except about five years older, said. “I know that I was. By now, you’ve likely realized that Gideon’s a specialized version of the AI you built which, if you’re watching this on November 13, 2016 like you’re meant to, you still call The Machine. The Machine’s what you might call Gideon’s older sister. Gideon’s creation is only half of the temporal fixed point preventing the Waverider’s time drive from working. Creating a functioning time machine is the other. Yes, Felicity, you, or rather we, built the Waverider. And today is the day you learned how to do it, how to make time travel work.” A drawer popped out of the wall, and inside of it, Felicity saw a large vial of something. They were particles of some kind, but the blonde couldn’t identify what they were. “The vial contains the missing ingredient to time travel. I can’t explain what they are or how they work, that’s something you need to figure out on your own. It might break time if I told you anyway.  The only thing I can tell you, and this is extremely important, is this: you’re on an unbelievably tight schedule right now and you need to get to work.”

The hologram then shut off. “Gideon?” Felicity asked. “What’s the second directive? You said you had two primary directives. What’s the second?”

“You'll know. In time.”

“How- So if I take this vial and I get back to work, does that fix the time drive? Or is it fixed when I get my version of it to work? I feel like this is one giant time loop.”

“It is, in a way. The decision to keep working is enough to resolve the issue with the ship, as long as you follow through on it.” Gideon tells her.

“Thanks Gideon.” Felicity said as she left the room. She headed back to the bridge to find all the Legends waiting there.

“I don’t know what you did, but you fixed it.” Jax said as she entered the room.

“What did you do?” Sara asked.

“It’s….complicated.” She answered. “We didn’t move or anything did we?” everyone shook their heads. “Ok, then I’m gonna go.”

As Felicity left the Waverider, she suddenly realized why Gideon had been so evasive about ancient Rome when Sara and Ray asked. The AI was trying to ensure her own ‘birth’ so to speak. If Gideon and The Machine were essentially sisters, The Machine’s code existed before the Legends went back, but Gideon’s didn’t. Because they went to Rome and told Felicity about it, the blonde became curious, which led to her creating both a time machine and an AI to operate it.

“This feels like I’m watching Primer.” Felicity sighed as she got off the ship. She looked at her phone and saw that it had been about an hour since Sara had appeared. “Time to tell Thea and Oliver about Markovia. Super fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so to recap: Felicity builds the Waverider using particles future-Felicity gave to her from after future-Felicity used those particles to make a time machine work.  
> It's kinda like how Sara was found by Nyssa off of Lian Yu because Sara told Ra's in the 1950s to send Nyssa to Lian Yu in 2008. (Or how Terminators are created using the chip from the machine sent to kill Sarah Connor that Cyberdyne finds)
> 
> It essentially created itself and there's no version of events where it doesn't happen.
> 
> This was the best way I could explain Felicity inventing time travel and not Tony, Shuri or another person.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and John get visitors, Felicity confesses, Bucky makes a decision, Natasha keeps getting vague answers, and someone takes a trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot happens in the chapter.

**Bethesda**

Lyla and Tony were in the middle of a debate about what to do now that John and Roy were awake when voices could be heard down the hallway. Lyla recognized the voices and stuck her head out.

Thea and Oliver Queen were at the other end of the hallway with their backs to Lyla. From their stances, both were very pissed off.

“Where is he?” Thea asked one of the nurses.

“I’m afraid I can’t give out that-.”

“We both know Roy Harper was brought to this hospital. His next of kin told us and put us on some approved visitor list. What room is he in?” Thea Queen might be short, but she was also terrifying if she wanted to be.

“I understand that, but-“

“Oliver, Thea, he’s in here.” Lyla said loud enough to be heard from across the hallway. “It’s fine.” She said to the nurse who tried to speak up. “Where’s Felicity?”

“Said she needed to find the person who caused this.” Oliver said. “Our friend in red said he’d get her here in soon.”

The group made awkward small talk for a few minutes until a blur of red came into the room. Felicity was then standing in front of Oliver and the others.

“The Flash, I’m guessing?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. At least I didn’t catch fire this time.” she admitted. “That gets….embarassing real fast.”

“Speed puns, really?” Tony jested before turning serious. “He called the UN.”

“Who?” Thea asked looking between Felicity and Tony.

“I had a feeling he would. And I didn’t quite know how to explain the situation to you guys.” Felicity admitted to Oliver, Thea, John, Roy and Lyla. “I’m a reincarnation, and Bucky Barnes is my reincarnated soulmate.” She blurted out. “And I didn’t know about any of this until right after my Congressional testimony.”

“How do- I mean- how can you know?”

“I just do. Plus, Nyssa told me. Then Doctor Strange, then Sara and Ray. I also started having weird dreams where I was me but also someone else….yeah.”

“Barnes is your soulmate?” Digg asked.

“Yeah. At least I think so.”

“And he’s coming back to the US?”

“He’s thinking about it, I guess. The UN is kinda giving him the deal of a lifetime.” Felicity said. “But, right now really isn’t about me. How are you feeling?”

“Like some crazy magic lady dropped a building on me.” Roy answered. “Tell me you found her.”

“Finding her isn’t the issue. Figuring out a way to contain her without a repeat of Markovia is.” The blonde said. “I have her tagged. She crosses any borders, I’ll know.”

“What- how- already?” Tony asked. he was shocked that Felicity had managed to locate Wanda in less than eight hours. He had FRIDAY working on it, but they were just getting started.

“The last time I couldn’t locate a potential threat, Havenrock happened.”

* * *

 

**Canada-One Week Later**

A little after 9:30 am, Bucky Barnes walked into the US embassy in Ottawa, Canada. After fulfilling his promise to Felicity to think about his decision, Bucky realized his plan hadn’t changed. He spent that week discussing what to do with T’Challa and Shuri. There wasn’t a US embassy in Wakanda yet, and if Bucky turned himself in at the embassy in one of the bordering countries, the world would know where he’d been hiding. He didn’t want to put T’Challa or the people of Wakanda in that kind of a position.

Unsure of what to do, he reached out to Felicity, who suggested he head to an embassy somewhere in Europe or North America. As long as he didn’t turn up in Germany, Romania or Russia, no one would suspect anything was amiss. In the end, Bucky chose Canada because it was the closest he could get to the US without actually being in the United States.

A flurry of activity followed Bucky’s arrival. Eventually, a harried looking man Bucky’d seen at the UN press conference entered the room.

“Good morning, Sergeant Barnes. I’m Eric Swaney.”

“It’s Bucky actually- I mean, I prefer to be called Bucky.” He said nervously. “Hi.”

“Bucky, then. Now, I know you’ve spoken with someone about the Accords and the UN’s announcement. Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”

“There was a question I forgot to ask. A few actually. Will I need to tell anyone where I’ve been since Russia? I wasn’t a fugitive, but I also don’t want the people who’ve helped me to suffer for helping me.”

“From what I understand from Ms. Walters, no you won’t. You weren’t a fugitive as you said, and you didn’t break any laws. There isn’t an investigation about you, so you’re fine. What are your other questions?”

“They’re mostly about what happens after I leave here. Jennifer, sorry Ms. Walters, she said I’d be staying at a UN facility for the time being, but she didn’t elaborate.”

“The UN decided the ideal place would be the New Avengers Compound. At the time, the decision might not have been finalized or the UN and Mr. Stark might’ve been ironing out a few details.”

“Mr. Stark?”

“He owns the Compound.”

“And he agreed to let me live there?”

“Yes. Now, even though you will be living there, you aren’t considered an Avenger. The UN would prefer for you to settle in and continue with your therapy before making a decision about your status.”

“Fine by me. I never really wanted to fight anyway.”

“Ok. Now, you’re not a prisoner there, so you can explore the facility, you can leave and you can have visitors, there are just a few conditions. For the time being, you can’t leave unaccompanied. It needs to be you and at least one or two others. Certain areas, like some of the labs and workshops, are off-limits unless you receive permission to enter them. Visitors need to be vetted, since it’s still a high-security facility. Seem reasonable?”

“I don’t have to see anyone I don’t want to, right?” Bucky didn’t want to be forced into interacting with people. Just because, hypothetically, that redhead woman from the airport wanted to talk to him didn’t mean he had to talk to her. He wanted a choice.

“Well, yes and no.” Swaney said. “You have to see your therapist. There are two or three other people you might not have to see, but you’ll need to at least talk to. You’ll be given notice beforehand though.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I know I’ve gotta see my therapist and stuff like that. I meant if someone visits me and I’m having a rough day, or if someone visits me and I don’t want to see them, I can send them away.”

“Oh, no. You don’t have to see anyone you don’t want to.”

* * *

 

**New York**

Bucky spent the whole flight and drive to the New Avengers Compound trying to remember how to breathe. For the first time, this situation felt real. He was home, he was free, no one was hunting him. On top of that, he’d get to see Felicity again.

Before he left Canada, Bucky asked for some privacy to make a phone call. He told Swaney he’d promised someone who helped him that he’d call after all the excitement died down. He, of course, called Felicity. They spent several minutes discussing exactly what to do when they were reunited. The blonde admitted to telling the New Avengers that Bucky might be her soulmate, but held back on admitting that he definitely was, to avoid suspicion from Dr. Strange. They decided to just reenact what happened in Wakanda, pretty much word-for-word.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the SUV he was in came to a stop. He looked out of the window and saw a group of people standing outside of the building. Stark, Rhodes, and Vision were there, along with several others he didn’t know. Bucky did recognize a few people from the news though. Taking a deep breath, he opened the car door and stepped out.

“- don’t understand why we need to verify this now.” A black man Bucky didn’t know said to someone else.

“Because if he’s not, at least she knows.” A woman he recognized as Lyla Michaels answered. The former Winter Soldier was confused. Why was the director of ARGUS here?

“Ah, Sergeant Barnes. Nice to see you.” Everett Ross said when he noticed Bucky had exited the SUV. “Your flight and drive were nice, I assume.” Bucky just nodded. “Good, let’s head inside and get you settled.”

“Hold up. We need to settle something first.” Tony Stark interrupted. “Smoakie?”

“For like the nineteenth time, that’s not-.” Felicity began to say, and then her eye caught Bucky’s. She practically ran over to him and embraced him. When she pulled away, she spoke again. **_“I didn’t think I would see you again this soon.”_**

**_“Shoshannah, I- “_ **

“Felicity, actually. My name is Felicity now.” She said, speaking English to make sure the observers knew what was going on.

“James- er Bucky. But I’m guessing by now you knew that.”

“Ok, so they are soulmates.” Tony remarked. “Mystery solved, now we can go inside.”

Digg looked between Felicity and Bucky, who were making dopey, lovesick faces at each other, and said, “Why don’t we give them a few minutes first?”

Felicity and Bucky started speaking in Thracian again, so no one knew exactly what they were saying, but based on body-language, both seemed happy. The pair were catching the other one up on their last few weeks and Felicity was explaining who Digg was and why he was there. After about five minutes, they turned back to the group.

“Sorry about that.” Felicity said sheepishly. “It’s just- I finally found him.” she let out a laugh towards the end. “Let’s go inside though.”

Ross, Tony, Felicity, Bucky and a few others spent the next hour or so in a conference room, going over the details of Bucky’s stay again. It was tedious to say the least, but didn’t take as long as everyone thought it might. Tony vanished as soon as they were done, leaving Rhodey and Felicity to give Bucky a tour of the facility. They showed him around the communal area, and introduced him to everyone, before taking him to his new quarters.

Felicity stayed in the Compound for a few more days before work and the real world caught back up with her. She headed back to Star City, but promised to call and Skype Bucky as often as she could.

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Natasha glared at the door to her cell. She’d gotten one of the guards to speak to her weeks ago, but hadn’t managed a repeat since. She didn’t care what they wanted, she just wanted them to hurry up and do it already. The suspense and inertia were killing her.

As expected, just like every other day, the door opened about ten minutes later. This time, the guard didn’t come alone. A medium-height brunette woman entered alongside the man carrying food. The woman didn’t speak and simply glared at Malcolm Merlyn, Natasha’s cellmate.

“What do you want from me?” Nat asked.

“Nothing.”

“Then why don’t you just kill me?”

“Because the world may still need you and I currently have no desire to kill you.” Nyssa answered. “That is why I haven't killed you, but that's not why you're being held here. I’ll let you figure that out for yourself.”

With that, Nyssa turned and exited the cell, closing the door behind her.

* * *

 

**Star City-Three Days Later**

“Eureka!” Felicity yelled as her prototype finally began to move. When it stopped a few minutes later, she could see she wasn’t in Star City anymore. Whether that meant in moved in space, in time or in both, remained to be seen. Taking a deep breath, Felicity went to open the outer doors. Looking around, the architecture alone told her she’d moved in both space and time. She was looking out at New York, but not 2016’s New York City. She just hoped she’d landed on the date she input.

Changing into something that fit the time period better, hopefully, Felicity left the time machine and headed out into the city. Looking around at the other people, her clothes weren’t out of place, so she was at least in the correct general era. She needed to find something, a newspaper, a radio broadcast, anything that confirmed she arrived on the right day.

The blonde walked a few blocks before she heard a newsboy calling something out. “1500 dead in Hawaii, Congress votes war!” She went over and bought a copy from the kid. On the front page, in black and white, the date ‘Monday December 8, 1941’ was printed. The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the exact date Felicity had chosen.

Felicity Smoak’s time machine worked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so since Digg and Roy are still feeling aftereffects of Wanda's magic, they're staying at the Compound temporarily. They're also still working with the Task Force. I didn't show it, but by the end of this chapter Barry, Cisco and Thea both signed the Accords. Oliver hasn't, but will soon.
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's adventure in 1941 has an unexpected end, Team Cap crumbles further, news of Bucky's return spread and Felicity and Bucky can't avoid the elephant in the room any longer.

**New York-1941**

1941 was a weird place for Felicity to be, at least as Felicity Smoak. Someone else with her face lived during this time, but that woman was miles away, and in a much different circumstance. As the blonde wandered the streets, her brain starting listing all of the ways this trip could go wrong. What if she caused an accident or something and she went home only to find out that one of her friends didn’t exist? What if she said something, did something that caused the war to end differently?

“Note to self: make Gideon check the timeline after every trip into the past for changes and anachronisms.” She whispered to herself. The hacker continued to wander, until she heard a familiar voice.

“- that’s why you keep getting punched.” Bucky Barnes said to someone. Felicity immediately stilled.

“What was I supposed to do? Just walk away?” another male voice responded.

“Yes, Steve. Sometimes you need to just walk away.”

Felicity could hear the pair walking towards her. She was frozen in place, until an arm reached out and pulled her out of their path.

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” A man in a tan coat hissed at her. “Do you have any idea what could’ve happened if he saw you?”

“Who the frack are you? What are you talking about?”

“Rip Hunter. I’m a Time Master.” The man said introducing himself. “Sergeant Barnes fall from that train is a fixed event. Any attempt to stop it, any attempt to warn him, it would destroy the future and possibly reality as we know it.”

“I- I wasn’t going to-“ the blonde stuttered out.

“I know who you are. I know why you want to warn him. You should leave this time at once.” He told her. “You can’t change this.”

* * *

 

**Star City-Present**

Felicity stepped out of the machine, which she’d parked in her warehouse. To anyone else, she’d only been gone twenty minutes. She actually spent a day and a half in 1941. The blonde had gotten close, dangerously close, to making a huge mistake. As the blonde pondered her next move, something occurred to her. she pulled out her cell phone.

“Nyssa? It’s me. I was wondering if I could ask you and Faiza for a favor?.....Don’t you want to at least ask her?....Okay then.”

The two women spoke for about half an hour while Felicity searched for flights.

* * *

 

**Denmark-Two Days Earlier**

Team Cap was whole again, well mostly whole considering Steve believed Bucky was still in cryo. Wanda had somehow managed to make it from Markovia to Denmark without being seen by anyone or stopped by any border patrol. Steve and Clint both believed it was dumb luck, while Sam was skeptical and Scott outright knew she had to use her powers. Natasha was still in the wind, but Clint waved that off as ‘Nat being Nat’ and ‘its an instinct of hers’.

Unbeknownst to them, Wanda was a marked woman, thanks to Felicity’s software, and they weren’t as off-the-grid as they thought. Felicity told the task force that she was tracking Wanda, and had a lead on the others. She promised to give them more information once she or Stark or another person working with the UN perfected a way to contain Wanda’s powers.

Steve woke up one morning and went into the kitchen. Sam, Clint and Wanda were all there, but Scott wasn’t. The captain asked the others if they’d seen the former thief. Scott had been withdrawing from the group more and more recently, which concerned Steve, but the captain hadn't figured out what to do about it.

“He went for a walk an hour ago, said he needed to clear his head.” Wanda said with disinterest. Sam stood and left the room, clearly with a destination in mind.

“And you just let him leave? We’re on the run. If he gets caught, we’re all SOL.” Clint said angrily. The archer had been angry a lot recently. Everyone wrote it off as him missing his family and recovering from the Raft.

“If he’s not back in fifteen minutes, we’ll deal with it. he’s not as recognizable as the rest of us.” Steve answered, trying to placate both teammates.

“Not really a good idea.” Sam said entering the room again. “His stuff’s gone.”

About five minutes later, Scott Lang walked into a police station in Copenhagen. He walked directly up to the desk sergeant and said, “My name is Scott Lang. I’d like to turn myself in for what happened in Leipzig.” He thought maybe, just maybe, if he turned himself in now, he'd get to see Cassie sometime in the next decade.

* * *

 

**Belarus-Present**

Clint, Steve, Wanda and Sam all sat around their new hideout, bored out of their minds. After Scott didn’t return, Steve had to accept the fact that the man was leaving for good. Whether he was trying to sneak home or turning himself in, no one knew and most didn’t care. If anything, they were more angry than concerned, since Scott leaving meant their location might’ve been compromised and Team Cap had to relocate. Clint suggested Belarus, since it was the closest country that didn’t have an extradition treaty with the United States.

They spent the day puttering around the safehouse, until the clock struck eight pm. Their television could pick up local channels and the BBC, but nothing else. As a result, everyday at eight pm, Steve insisted they watch the news, or at least the first five minutes.

The group sat in silence as the BBC World News intro finished playing.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.” The anchor said. “Tonight, we begin with breaking news. Scott Lang, or as he is better known, the Ant-Man has turned himself into authorities in Copenhagen. The United Nations and the ICC are currently in the process of transporting Mr. Lang to a more secure facility. The Copenhagen police released a statement earlier today, saying Lang turned himself in of his own accord and is fully cooperating with authorities. There has been no word yet regarding the other members of the Rogue Avengers, so it’s believed they are still at large.”

The safehouse’s residents all stared at the TV dumbstruck. Before they could process the news, the anchor continued. “In a related story, the Associated Press have confirmed that Sergeant James Barnes has returned to the United States. The United Nations has released a statement saying that after a lengthy discussion with both the Accords Council and the United Nations at large, Sergeant Barnes turned up at the United States embassy in Ottawa, in order to finalize his return. An American journalist was able to uncover footage verifying the UN’s statement regarding Barnes’ return.”

A security tape from the airfield where Bucky’s plane landed began to play. Bucky, a man in a suit and three men who were clearly security personnel disembarked. They walked over to a waiting SUV and got in. What surprised most people was Bucky. He wasn't handcuffed, shackled or anything. The guards seemed tense and were armed, but they weren’t acting as though he was a ticking time bomb.

At the safehouse, all hell broke loose. Clint scoffed at both Bucky and Scott's stupidity for surrendering themselves. Wanda started ranting about how unfair it was that Barnes was cleared, and got to go home, but none of the others were. Sam sat perplexed. He could’ve guessed Scott would turn himself in, but Steve was adamant that Bucky couldn’t have and thus wouldn’t have found out about the UN’s announcement. What that meant, Sam didn’t know.

Steve’s face darkened. Bucky was awake. T’Challa didn’t tell him when they awoke Bucky. The king had let Bucky turn himself in and fall into the government’s trap. The captain was livid. 

* * *

 

**New York**

Felicity returned to New York shortly after her call to Nyssa. She arrived at the Compound a little after 11 am on Sunday morning. She walked in to find some of the staff, most of the New Avengers, Digg, Roy and Bucky, in the kitchen having brunch.

“Good morning, Ms. Smoak.” Vision said greeting her. “Bacon?”

“Morning. And, no thanks.”

“Who says ‘no’ to bacon?” Tony asked.

“Felicity doesn’t eat bacon.” Roy said casually. “Well, I mean, she eats turkey bacon but-“ Roy made a ‘bleh’ face instead of finishing his sentence.

“I’m Jewish, bacon isn’t kosher.” Felicity explained. “And turkey bacon is good, Roy. Take that mishegas somewhere else.”

“My apologies.” Vision said. “I did not mean to offend you.”’

“It’s okay. You didn’t know.” Felicity said as she finished grabbing food for herself. She went to sit down and discovered that Bucky’d left the room. “I’ll be right back.”

The blonde went into the hallway. Luckily, this hallway was long, so Felicity was able to see Bucky turn a corner and follow him. he must’ve sensed someone was following him, so he picked up the pace. She lost him, but not before realizing where he was going. She soon found herself standing outside of Bucky’s room. She knocked on the door but didn’t receive any acknowldgement.

“I know you’re in there. Look, you don’t have to talk, okay? Just listen.” She said as she sat down on the floor. “I’m gonna guess and say you ran away because you found out I’m Jewish. It doesn’t take a genius, although I am one, to figure out why that would make you leave. You’re remembering every bad thing Hydra made you do, and you probably think I hate you because of it. I don’t.”

She paused briefly as she gathered her thoughts a little more. “I won’t sit here and say it doesn’t matter or that it wasn’t you. I feel like saying that would disregard or minimize the situation. Those things happening matter, the pain people endured matter. However, those things Hydra made you do, they weren’t your choice. You didn’t decide to do them of your own free will. You’re not responsible for the evil Hydra did. You are a victim in this situation just as much as the Winter Soldier’s targets, it just took a different form.” She took a deep breath. “I’ll leave you alone now.”

“You don’t have to leave.” He said quietly from the other side of the door.

“Will you open the door then?” she said, sounding a little too hopeful. Bucky didn’t respond, but the door cracked open slightly.

“You really don’t hate me for it, for what they made me do?”

“Did you go to Hydra and volunteer to join them? Did you ask to be tortured, and experimented on, and have all your memories erased?”

The door flew open and Bucky stood there looking furious. “Of course not! Why the fuck would I-?”

“Exactly.” She interrupted his tirade. “You didn’t ask for any of that to happen, you didn’t want any of that to happen, and that’s why I don’t hate you and don’t blame you. Let’s go back to brunch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'mishegas' is Yiddish for craziness/nonsense.  
> There will be one more chapter before we jump ahead in time a little.
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity goes to Target and sees a familiar face, Scott speaks with Hope, Steve makes a call, and Nyssa helps Felicity out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so in this story, there are many different kinds of magic/sorcery. Strange's magic is just one branch of magic.

**New York**

The day after the New Avengers’ very tense brunch, Felicity ran into Strange on her way out of the compound.

“What’s up, doc?” she asked and got an unimpressed look in response. “Sorry. You’d think after that failed with the first few people I tried it on that I’d stop trying to make the joke work.”

“At least you aren’t showing me some imaginary rash and asking for a diagnosis.” He responded.

“People really do that?” she wondered. “Anyway, not to be rude, but why are you- you know- leaving by car when you can just portal wherever.”

“Somehow I feel like the staff and other customers at Target wouldn’t react well to that. And I’m not causing a scene just to buy shampoo and light bulbs.”

“Fair enough. I’m going there too. You wanna drive or should I?”

Felicity wound up driving, since Strange didn’t know the way and hadn’t driven since his accident. They were a few minutes away when Stephen asked a question that had been bugging him.

“You met him before, didn’t you? Between Rhodes’ surgery and Barnes’ arrival, you met Bucky Barnes.”

“I did. I didn’t know what his legal status was, so I refrained from letting anyone know how or where it happened. I’m guessing either you or someone in Kamar Taj felt it or something. Faiza hinted to me that when we met again, the universe would be in balance or something.”

“Faiza?”

“She’s kinda- one of her ancestors was a student of mine. She’s the one who told me that I was, you know, a reincarnation.” Felicity said as she parked the car. “’You have one job and one job only in this store. Do not let me fall into a Target Spiral.”

“Target Spiral?”

“it’s when you go to Target to buy one thing like toilet paper or something, but you leave with a lamp, three pairs of pants, two movies, a blender and you don’t even remember to buy toilet paper.”

The pair entered the store and went their separate ways. Fifteen minutes later, Strange had gotten what he needed, paid and was searching the store for Felicity. He found her in the electronics section. After about five minutes of back-and-forth, he managed to get her to head to the checkout lanes.

They were walking back to the car when a voice called out. “Felicity Smoak. You’re a long way from Star City.”

“Constantine.” Felicity said turning towards the voice. “Nice to see you made it out of Hell.” She then realized she was being a little rude. “Sorry, John Constantine, Dr. Stephen Strange. Strange, Constantine.”

“I know who he is. Kind of big news, mate, a new sorcerer supreme.” John said.

“Constantine, well, he fights demons and the forces of evil and so on using magic.” Felicity’s phone then started ringing. “Sorry, I gotta take this.” She moved a few feet away.

“You feel it too, don’t you? The energy coming off of her.” Constantine asked as soon as she was out of earshot. “When I felt it in Star City, it was much, much less obvious. Explains why my search led me directly to her.”

“I don't feel anything coming from her."

"Maybe it's just not noticeable to your kind of magic. Mystical energy is pouring out of her."

"She’s a reincarnation.”

“Just being a reincarnation doesn’t explain it. I don’t know who or what else she is, but she’s got enough power rolling off of her to power the state of New York.”

Before Strange could respond, Constantine left and Felicity walked back over to where the car was.

* * *

 

**Netherlands**

“Mr. Lang?” One of the Accords staff members said, pulling Scott out of his stupor. “There’s a phone call for you.”

After Scott turned himself in, he spent a few days in Denmark while the UN figured out their next move in terms of his arrest and sentence. After two days, they took him to The Hague, believing it was a more secure place to hold him than a Copenhagen police station. They doubted he would try to escape, but had to consider the possibility of Anti-Team Cap protestors arriving or Team Cap trying to break him out.

Since his surrender, the UN had given him an attorney, who spent several hours discussing the situation with Scott. He was in trouble for what happened in Leipzig and for breaking his parole. Turning himself in could work in his favor and earn him some leniency, but not as much as if he’d surrendered two months ago. He was in a strange position: he had sided with Team Cap and broken several laws, but he wasn’t seen as the mastermind behind anything that happened and most saw him as an afterthought. 

“Hello?” he said as he picked up the receiver.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Hope yelled into the phone. “You broke your parole, you left your life behind, for what? Captain America because he asked? Did you even know what the fight was about?”

“I wasn’t really thinking. It’s just- I mean, it was Captain America and he needed my help. And I, I let my hero worship get the better of me.” He sighed. “I didn’t- I didn’t even know what the Accords said when he called. I just figured, it’s Captain America. His side has to be the right one. I was wrong.”

“Why’d you turn yourself in?”

“I screwed up. I realized a little too late how badly I screwed up. I’m hoping maybe by turning myself in and trying to set things right, I’ll get to see Cassie sometime in the next decade and in about twenty years, you’ll forgive me.”

“Yeah, you screwed up, and you screwed up badly. You didn’t just take off, you put everyone, including Cassie, at risk. Your enlarging stunt could’ve killed you or worse. You were an idiot.” Hope responded. “But a well-meaning idiot. So, I’ve decided to help you as much as I can.”

“Really? You’d- thank you-“

“Don’t thank me yet. I gotta a lot of people I still need to convince.”

* * *

 

**New York**

Things were tense the next morning as Hope waited for Tony, Rhodey, Felicity, and the others to arrive. Bucky was the only compound resident not coming to the meeting for two reasons. It was his first meeting with his therapist today and he wasn’t an Avenger or a task force member like Felicity, so while his opinion was valuable, they didn’t have to take it into account.

Everyone slowly filed into the room and took their seats. Rhodey informed everyone that Hope had called for the meeting before turning over the floor to her.

“I’d like to discuss Scott Lang, aka Antman. As we know, he turned himself in for his part in the events of the Civil War.”

“What do you want to do?” Tony asked her. The pair had always been rivals, much like their fathers. However, Hope and Tony’s rivalry was much friendlier than Hank and Howard’s. They were competitive but still on good terms; neither one begrudged the other’s success. “I mean, I met the guy once and it wasn’t the most calm situation.”

“I’d like to help him as much as I can. He wants to set things right. He acknowledges that he messed up by joining ‘Team Cap’. I think we need to take that into consideration.” Hope said.

“Why did he join Team Cap, if you don’t mind me asking?” Jennifer asked.

“He got blindsided by hero worship. He couldn’t believe Rogers had asked for his help, and was so star-struck he didn’t think to ask for more details. He didn’t even know what the Accords said.”

“So, he’s just an idiot.”

“A well-meaning one. That has to count for something.” Felicity said. Everyone gave her a strange look. “What? From what I’ve seen and been told, Rogers, Wilson, and Maximoff disagreed on principle and flat-out refused to discuss anything. I don’t know what Barton was thinking or was told, but he would’ve been in the same boat. And Romanov is self-explanatory. Lang didn’t know what he was fighting for. It was stupid of him to do it, but it wasn’t malicious. Is anyone seriously against getting him a pardon or at least a reduced sentence?” Everyone shook their heads.

“He isn’t Barnes, they won’t let him off free and clear.” Rhodey said.

“I know.” Hope answered.

“Conditional pardons exist. Even if he isn’t pardoned, between his cooperation and Hope vouching for him, they’ll likely reduce the charges or at least the sentence they’re looking for.” Jennifer added.

Felicity looked between Hope and the others before speaking. “I might have a proposal the Council will probably agree to.”

* * *

 

**Wakanda**

T’Challa was in his office looking over reports from the Border Tribe when one of the scientists who worked with Shuri entered the room.

“Sorry to interrupt.” The man said apologetically. “There is a minor situation.”

“What minor situation?”

“The outdated phone Captain Rogers left behind several months ago. When Barnes left Wakanda, he didn’t bring it with him. The phone has been ringing nonstop for the last twelve hours.” He explained before pulling the device in question out of his pocket. “I was unsure if it should be answered and Princess Shuri instructed me to inform you.”

The king sighed, put the papers in his hands down, and held one hand out. “Give me the phone.” He took it from the man and gestured for him to leave. “Hello?”

“Why didn’t you tell me Bucky was awake?”

“He requested I refrain from telling you right away. He said he needed to figure somethings out for himself before he was ready to contact you. I obliged him, since the sergeant spent years being unable to decide things for himself.”

“Bucky isn’t in the right place to make any decisions right now.”

“Myself, several of my top scientists and a skilled psychologist beg to differ. While he still struggles with the trauma he’s endured, his ability to make decisions, and to make sound decisions, has not suffered one iota.”

“You let him turn himself into the UN.” Steve argued. “You let him walk right into a trap.”

“I did not let him do anything. He’s an adult capable, as I just said, of making his own choices. He saw the news, he asked myself and others for clarification and our opinions, but no one forced or coerced him into doing or agreeing to anything.” T’Challa said, starting to lose his patience. “And the UN’s announcement is not a trap.”

“Then why was the announcement only directed at him? Why not the rest of us? If they’re realizing the Accords are a mistake, why are we-?”

“They are not ‘realizing the Accords are a mistake’, in fact, the Accords are stronger than ever. They have been working, for months, better than most anticipated. What you fail to grasp is the situation with Barnes had nothing to do with the Accords except in your own mind. And the announcement was only directed at Barnes because he’s the only one who wasn’t a fugitive. Yourself, the rest of your ‘team’, you’re all criminals as far as the world is concerned.” T’Challa said. “Enjoy Belarus and do not call this number again.” the king then hung up.

* * *

 

**The Netherlands**

“Mr. Lang.” The UN official presiding over Scott’s hearing said. “I hope you realize how incredibly fortunate you are to have friends willing to go to bat for you like this. I trust you understand the severity of your actions.” Scott nodded. He was still shocked that not only had Hope vouched for him, but several others did too. “Is there anything else you would like to say?” He shook his head. “Then, provided you abide by the conditions of your release, you are free to go.”

Scott Lang was getting off very easy. Two months in prison for breaking his parole, followed by four months of house arrest at the New Avengers Compound. The official had told him before reading out the sentence that, had he not turned himself in, and had the others not vouched for him, that sentence would’ve been much, much longer.

* * *

 

**Star City-Next Day**

“Oof!” Felicity exclaimed as she fell to the ground again. “Remind me why I asked you to do this?”

“Because while your mind remembers how to fight, your body no longer has the muscle memory.” Nyssa said as she helped her up. “It also makes it easier for me to keep the other League members off of your back, us meeting like this.”

“And I am the most qualified to instruct you in other matters.” Faiza said from the corner.

Felicity had called Nyssa a few days earlier and asked for a favor. She asked Nyssa to train her to fight and asked Faiza for help regaining her magical and supernatural abilities. Strange or Constantine would've helped, but it just wasn't their kind of magic.

“It was a rheotorical question.” Felicity said as she got back into a fighting stance. “Before we go again, any updates on the itsy-bitsy spider?”

“I’d assume she’s wishing the rain would come and wash the spider out right about now.” Nyssa deadpanned. “She’s alive and uninjured. Until I am informed the world doesn’t in fact need her, she will remain that way. Why do you ask now?”

“Curiosity mostly. Your subtle hints weren’t that subtle, and personal dislike aside, if there is some huge fight coming, we may need her.”

“If the fight does not come, or she is not needed, I would still see her pay for her actions.”

“I know. That’s partially why I convinced the Council she either met up with Rogers or got caught by some acquaintances with a bone to pick with her.” the blonde answered. “Now, what are we learning today, Faiza?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're gonna take a little jump forward in time after this.  
> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We jump forward six months in time. 
> 
> The Accords Council makes a decision (Felicity thinks its a stupid-ass decision), and consequences follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ:  
> I'm skipping over some major events that aren't directly plot related. Flashpoint happened and was fixed, so Caitlin became Killer Frost and Wally became Kid Flash. It also brought a few people back to life. Prometheus and Savitar both exist and are threats, but not to the level they were in canon.
> 
> I'm also assuming that, in the intervening six months, any time Team Cap got caught or got close to being caught, they escaped/fought their way out.

**New York-SIX MONTHS LATER (May 2017)**

“This is bullshit.” Felicity said as she stormed into the compound. The Accords Council had called a meeting with every signee of the legislation. They were pardoning, with a long list of conditions, the Exvengers. They’d still face consequences for what happened, but not as much as they should have. The blonde was sure they’d even see it as a victory, when in reality the world was tired of them making a bigger mess running away from their own decisions.

“It’s politics.” Tony said. “The team going to get them will be here soon.”

Shortly after, in fact about thirty seconds after, the announcement was made, Ross proposed an extraction of the Exvengers prior to the public announcement. Both sceintists had to give him credit, Everett Ross was good at painting things in a not-so-bad light. He argued that waiting for the announcement to extract them might create a stand-off with angry civilians or jeopardize the safety of everyone. A team instead would be sent to their location, inform them of the news and escort them somewhere more secure.

Officially, that was the mission. Unofficially, Ross, Tony, Felicity and several others knew they probably wouldn’t believe it or go quietly and wanted to avoid an even bigger confrontation. Several close calls in the last six months left millions in property damage, dozens of injuries and five deaths thanks to the Exvengers. Not to mention the irreparable damage Wanda Maximoff had done to peoples’ psyche.

The last six months had been very nice for Felicity. Smoak Tech had made over three billion dollars in revenue. Roy and Digg recovered fully, and Roy’s name was officially cleared. Oliver finally signed the Accords as the Green Arrow. Bucky was still in therapy but he was doing a lot better and had been cleared to sign the Accords and become a reserve Avenger. Thanks to Nyssa, Felicity’s fighting had improved drastically. Felicity still smiled when she remembered the look on Oliver’s face when he learned what she and Nyssa were up to. Sadly for him, the threat of ‘stop or I’ll make you’ didn’t work on Felicity or Nyssa. Felicity had also developed a way to contact the Legends regardless of where in time they were in case of an emergency.

It was a good six months for many of the others as well. Scott Lang had finished his sentence and would soon be cleared to join the Avengers. He and Hope weren't back together yet, but she was significantly less angry than she was six months ago. Tony had recruited four heroes in New York who were calling themselves 'The Defenders' to sign the Accords. Caitlin had gotten a better handle on controlling Killer Frost. Barry and Iris started dating. Thanks to Barry messing with time, Tommy Merlyn turned up alive in Coast City two months ago. He'd been unidentified and in a coma since the Undertaking.They only were able to identify him when he woke up and asked where Oliver and Laurel were. Telling him about Laurel's death was the hardest thing Oliver had ever had to do. The Legends managed to prevent another potential destruction of the timeline, this one caused by an old follower of Savage's. Samantha and William Clayton had come out of hiding, and Oliver's son finally got to know who he was. Oliver had visited the pair twice since they returned.

Half an hour later, the team arrived for a briefing and to get their supplies for the mission. The team consisted of about ten task force members, the Flash and Doctor Strange. Strange would create a sort of ‘dead zone’ around the building, so that Wanda couldn’t sense anyone coming and it would severely limit her powers. Barry volunteered to go since speedsters were useful in case things went wrong and civilians were threatened.

“Ok, people. It’s almost showtime.” Felicity said. Since she’d bee tracking them for months, it was her job to brief everyone about the plan. “The announcement goes public in about eighteen hours, so we gotta move fast. For the last two months, Rogers, Wilson, Barton and Maximoff have been holed up in an abandoned house on the outskirts of Yerevan. The goal is to get there right around 8pm, since it’s the one time of the day that they’re all always home. Dr. Strange will be creating a sort of force field around the building, so Maximoff’s powers will be dampened somewhat. When the field is up, Adams will approach the house and identify himself.” Adams was a task force member who oversaw this team and a few others. “He’s going to inform them that they’ve been pardoned. If they come out peacefully, take them to the jet and that’s the end of it.”

“And if they don’t?”

“You’re authorized to use tranquilizers and nonlethal if necessary. We don’t want a repeat of Minsk.” The day after Scott Lang was sentenced, a Belarussian cop radioed in suspicious activity near Team Cap’s safehouse. One of them caught wind of it, which led to a standoff with police, six injuries and one death. The suspicious activity actually had nothing to do with the Exvengers, since the officer was looking for gang members believed to be behind a series of robberies. “Flash has device able to restrain Maximoff’s powers indefinitely. If they try to fight their way out, his first job is to clear the area of any civilians. His second job’s containing Maximoff and Rogers.” Felicity answered. “If things go the non-easy route, cuff them and get them onto the jet. Radio in afterwards and we’ll take it from there. Any questions?”

“What about Romanov?”

“She’s handled at the moment. Jet leaves in ten.”

Bucky found Felicity in the conference room twenty minutes later. “So, that was some announcement.” He could tell she wasn’t happy.

“It was something alright. How are you doing?” she asked. She didn’t like Steve Rogers at the moment, but she knew he was important to Bucky, and he hadn’t seen him in almost a year. “You haven’t seen Steve since cryo.”

“Ok, I guess. It’s just- this is the first time my head’s been, you know, all mine around him since the 40s. I made the right call though, not telling him when I woke up.”

“Yeah. You were kinda all over the place back then. What about the others?”

“Is it mean to say I don’t care? I spent two days total with them, and we were fighting for most of it. They’re Steve’s friends, not mine.”

“No, its not mean. It makes sense. You don't really know them, so not caring makes way more sense than caring.”

* * *

**Armenia-Hours Later**

Team Cap sat together in front of the outdated television. Steve still insisted they watch the news, even though most of it wasn’t relevant to them. A week after Scott turned himself in, there’d been a short announcement that he’d taken some kind of deal. Once a week, they’d be a report about changes to the Accords or the announcement that another nation had signed on. Or another ‘hero’ signed them. Steve used that term loosely. He was a hero, Sam, Nat, Clint, even Tony before this whole Accords mess, was a hero. The Green Arrow wasn’t a hero, he was just a vigilante in a hood. Neither were his teammates.

Bucky had only been in the news once or twice since he returned to the US months ago. Some tabloid got pictures of him and a blonde woman Steve didn’t know. Clint told him to ignore the story since it was just the tabloids and they make things up to sell papers. The BBC then picked the story up because apparently she was some important businesswoman and there was speculation she was building a prosthetic for him, and business insiders wondered what that meant for her company. The second time he was in the news, it was because Bucky’d signed the Accords. Steve was furious at that, and it took all three of his teammates to talk him down. Platitudes of ‘he doesn’t know what he’s doing’ and ‘when we get home, we’ll fix it’ kept him from leaving to rescue Bucky.

The intro music was ending when Wanda stiffened. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. just a weird feeling.” She said, waving him off.

About thirty seconds later, there was a knock at the door. Clint nudged for Wanda to yell out, since her accent sounded the closest to an Armenian one.

“Who is it?”

“My name is Kevin Adams. I’ve been sent by the UN. I have good news I need to share with you.” A man called out in a clear voice.

“He’s here to arrest us.” Clint whispered.

“I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not here to arrest you. I’ll explain more if you’ll open the door.”

Sam moved over to the window and saw that he wasn’t alone. He gestured for Steve and Clint to come look.

“We’re not turning ourselves in.” Steve yelled back.

“I didn’t say you had to turn yourselves in.” Adams said calmly. “I just want to-“ he was cut off when several bullets went through the front door, followed by someone angrily whispering ‘Clint.’

Adams had ducked out of the way in time, and turned to the others before giving them a short nod. Barry took off, clearing a quarter mile radius around the house. Luckily, there weren’t many people he had to get to safety.

“Again, I’m not here to arrest you or try and bring you in. There’ve been new developments from the United Nations.” Adams was cut off once again as Clint shot at the door.

Inside meanwhile, Wanda was trying, and failing, to use her powers to make the UN team leave. For some reason it wasn’t working. Her mental manipulation skills must be rusty, so she tried to physically move them, and that didn’t work either. She was about to tell Steve they did something to her when the door slammed open and a red blur came in. it ran right towards her, and before anyone could stop it, grabbed her and ran out. Milliseconds later, it returned and grabbed Steve. A few second after Steve was taken out, they heard a different voice speak.

“We aren’t here to fight guys. We just want to talk. I don’t know what you expect to do with two guns against a dozen people, Mr. Barton, so maybe take a second and think. You can’t get to your bow or Wilson’s wings without having to face us.”

“You got all that in a fraction of a second?” Adams asked.

“Fraction of a millisecond actually.” Barry answered. “Like Adams said, we aren’t here to arrest you. You’ve actually been pardoned.”

“Bullshit.” Clint yelled back. “I’m not falling for that one.”

“Look, you can believe us and come out to talk. Or not, and we’ll come in. Both your ‘big guns’ are out here with me, so I don’t know what you plan on doing, but it won’t end the way you think.” Barry said.

“You want us, come get us.” Clint said menacingly as Sam shot him an incredulous look. Seconds later, the red blur entered again and both men were soon rendered unconscious.

* * *

**UN Quinjet**

Sam, Wanda, Clint and Steve all stirred awake at roughly the same time. Each awoke to find themselves restrained, but otherwise unharmed. All three looked to Steve for an explanation, but he seemed just as clueless as the others.

“I apologize for restraining you.” Adams said when he noticed they were awake. “I wanted to have a civil conversation but couldn’t risk any of you panicking and lashing out when you woke up.”

“Let me guess, we’re being shipped off to the Raft now. Again.” Clint scoffed.

“The Raft is at the bottom of the ocean thanks to your leader,” he said gesturing to Steve, “and it was an illegal prison in the first place. You aren’t being sent to prison. As I tried to explain, you’ve been pardoned.”

“What’s the catch?”

“Think of it as probation. You do what is requested of you, abide by the conditions they give you, and it’ll be like the last year never happened.” Adams’ voice was completely devoid of emotion as he spoke.

“Let me guess, we have to sign the Accords.”

“Yes. The UN would like you to sign them. But that’s a discussion for later.”

“Stark put you up to this didn’t he?” Wanda spat out. “Arresting us like this, he just had to win.”

“Mr. Stark had nothing to do with the decision to pardon you. Nor the mission to return you to the US. My job was to extract you from Armenia before the announcement became public. And you aren’t under arrest. However, I was authorized to tranquilize and restrain you if I deemed it necessary. Which I did when Mr. Barton attempted to shoot me.” He then began removing the restraints, starting with Sam first. “I’m going to uncuff you all. Please refrain from attacking anyone.”

“How’d you find us anyway?” Steve asked.

“I don’t have the clearance to answer that. All I know is, you weren’t that lost in the first place. Nor was Ms. Romanov.”

“You caught Nat?” Clint was surprised to hear that.

“Someone found her. She’s unharmed.” One of the task force members said.

“We’re on our way to a secure location, where someone will discuss the pardons further with you and you can ask any questions you need. After that, you’ll be meeting with some Accords signees to discuss logistics of your next steps.” Adams continued. He grabbed a stack of papers and walked over to the group. “Here’s the official documentation, in case any of you want to read it before we land.”

* * *

  **Nanda Parbat**

Nyssa watched with a bored expression as an unconscious Natasha was carried onto a plane.

“She will tell them where she’s been.” An assassin told Nyssa. “They will know we imprisoned her.”

“She doesn’t know where she’s been, just that its somewhere vaguely near the Middle East. The voltura she’s ingested will ensure she remembers very little, if at all. Thanks to Malaq, we have documents proving she was legally imprisoned in Pakistan for crimes she committed against their country.” One of the smarter things Nyssa’s father did during his reign as Ra’s al Ghul was install people in the governments of the nations that bordered Nanda Parbat. “Other than recognizing me, which I can easily explain away, there is nothing that links her back to us.”

* * *

**Switzerland**

The UN jet landed about thirty minutes later at a base just outside Bern. Everyone disembarked, and the Rogues were met by a slightly amused Ross, two people Steve recognized from the UN base in Berlin, three nervous people in suits and one annoyed-looking woman.

“Follow me.” Ross said as he turned towards the building. The six people with him followed. The former exiles had no other choice but to follow. They were led into a somewhat large conference room and sat down.

“I suppose we should start with introductions.” He gestured to the woman who looked angry to be there and the man next to her. “These two are Joanna De La Vega and Stephen Benowitz. Both are lawyers with experience in international law and have volunteered their time today. We have Agent Rodriguez from SHIELD and Agent Scull from ARGUS, some of you might recognize them from Berlin. Lastly, Scott Gray and Masami Guan who both work for the Sokovia Accords Council.”

“Fine, whatever. Can we get to the point?’ Clint asked. Sam elbowed him and Steve shot him a disappointed look.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Steve said politely. “So, we’ve been pardoned.”

“Yes, provided you adhere to the conditions of said pardons.” Benowitz answered.

“Yes, Agent Adams explained. What are the conditions?”

“In general, there aren’t many. You sign the Accords. You’ll be housed at The New Avengers Compound for the next year. During that time, you need to show a good faith effort to abide by the Accords. These pardons don’t exempt you from future violations of the Accords or the repercussions that follow. When the year is up, you’re completely free to go.”

“And if we don’t sign?”

“You only get pardoned if you sign.”

“That’s unfair. We’re fugitives because we refused to sign and now-.”

“You’re fugitives because two of you got in the middle of an active police investigation leading to several injuries and deaths, all of you caused several million dollars of damage to an airport and numerous injuries. Also, three of you are escaped felons.” Joanna scoffed.

“Signing shows people, most of whom support the Accords, that you’re willing to compromise. You claim you want to protect people, this shows you’ll do it in a way they feel comfortable accepting.” Scull said. “You’ve broken a lot of people’s trust, this is how you start earning it back.”

“What about Stark?” Clint asked.

“And Bucky?” Steve added.

“I don’t think I understand the question.” Gray responded. “They’ve signed, if that’s what you both are asking. They both are currently stationed at the Compound, along with a dozen or so others. They were informed of this new development, but aside from one minor detail, had no input on what conditions were chosen or how they’d be implemented.”

“And what ‘minor’ detail did Stark have input on?” Sam asked.

“It was Sergeant Barnes’ request actually, and it doesn’t have anything to do with you.” Joanna answered. “There are some slight variances in the deal each of you are getting, but we’ll go over those individually once we get to the Compound. Are you prepared to sign?”

Clint wanted to see his family again. Sam wanted his normal life back. Wanda was sick of hiding and Steve wanted to make sure that Bucky was okay and that his conditioning had really been removed. All four nodded at the same time and asked for pens.

* * *

**New York**

Felicity looked up from her computer in shock. She sat there for a moment, reread the email and then began to panic. The blonde already had enough to deal with. The Accords, dealing with the League, running her company, what Faiza had revealed to her about her past. Speaking of her past, she knew Strange suspected something was up with her. Constantine had called her a few times, through Oliver, to ask her random questions about her past lives. Now, this.

“Oh, this is bad. This is really not good. This is- this is- fracking frack. Do I tell them? Do I not tell them? How do I-?”

“What are you freaking out about?” Jennifer asked as she, Bucky Rhodey, and Tony came into the room. Vision was already there and looked just as confused. Before Felicity could explain, Lyla came in.

“Did you check your email?”

“Yeah, I did. How did- why did- what?!”

“I’m not happy about it either. I tried to get a ‘no’ but the Council was adamant.”

“Who’s supposed to tell them? How are we supposed to tell them?”

“Ok, what the fuck is going on?” Tony asked after watching the back and forth. Felicity turned her computer and showed him the email. He read it quickly. “And?”

“There are quite a few people in Star City who aren’t gonna be happy about that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I brought Tommy back to life. (I also brought a few others back, but you'll have to wait and see)
> 
> What are Felicity and Lyla upset about? What will happen when the Exvengers return? What exactly is going on with Felicity?  
> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snippets from the six months I skipped over, mostly focused on Felicity, Bucky or Team Arrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter was serious. Next chapter is serious. We needed a respite.

**New Avengers Compound- November 2016**

A few days after Bucky returned to the United States, he was exploring the Compound, trying to find Felicity. She was the only person he knew and after the last 70 years, he didn’t trust people he didn’t know. He’d met her friends Roy and Digg and they seemed to be on okay terms, but he didn’t really know them. He thought he heard her voice and moved towards it. Turning the corner, he saw something he didn’t expect.

Lyla Michaels and Digg were sitting in one of the common rooms. Felicity, meanwhile, was holding a little girl who couldn’t have been older than 2 and tickling her.

“No, this can’t possibly be Sara! Sara wasn’t this big last time I saw her.” Felicity stage-whsipered to Digg and Lyla. “Maybe Sara is hiding behind her.”

“Auntie ‘Lissy. It me!” the girl said.

“Well, it certainly sounds like Sara. But only Sara knows our secret handshake.” The blonde held a hand out. She and the toddler then did a very simple handshake combination before she hugged her and exclaimed. “It is Sara!”

“Said so!” Sara responded in between giggles. When she broke away from the hug, she began looking around. Her eyes eventually found Bucky. “Auntie ‘Lissy, who that?”

Everyone in the room then turned to see who she was pointing to. The little girl ran over to him and looked up at him. Bucky realized he was probably intruding on something. “I’m sorry, I-“

“Sara, this is Bucky.” Lyla bent down and told her daughter. “She’s a friend of Aunt Felicity’s.”

“Like Uncle Ollie and Uncle Roy and Auntie Thea and Uncle Barry and Big Sara?” A few months ago, Sara got tired of being called ‘Baby Sara’. According to her, she was ‘a big girl, not a baby’. She decided she was Sara, and Sara Lance was ‘Big Sara’ since she was a grown up.

“That’s right.” Lyla said patiently. “Can you say ‘hi’?”

The little girl waved but didn’t speak. Some instinct of Bucky’s told him to crouch down so that he was closer to the toddler’s height. He remembered having sisters, and how he used to watch them. When Rebecca was this young, she didn’t talk to adults unless they moved to her level. Some of that was coming back. He looked between Digg and Lyla, neither of whom looked angry that he was around their child, before squatting down.

“Hi, Sara.” He greeted her. “How old are you?”

“Hi.” The girl said quietly. She then held up two fingers. “This many.”

“Two years old?” He asked and she nodded. “Wow. You’re a big girl then.”

“Yes.” She said proudly. The toddler then noticed Bucky’s left sleeve, which was knotted just below his stump. “What happen? You get owie?”

“Sara, that’s not-“ John started to say. Toddlers were uncomfortably blunt and honest. He was still on the fence about Barnes, but didn’t want to force the man to be uncomfortable.

“No, its okay.” Bucky told him. He turned his attention back to Sara. “I got an owie a long time ago. Your Aunt Felicity and a lot of really smart people are gonna make me better.”

“Ok.” the little girl said before announcing she wanted to color.

“Sorry about that.” Digg said to him and Lyla shot him an apologetic look.

“It’s okay. Kids are curious, I remember that much. I’m sorry about this.”

“About what?”

“We all know what I’ve done and what I’m dealing with. You don’t want me around your daughter. I get it, I’m not offended.”

“We were concerned about how you’d react to her questions. The truth isn’t exactly kid-friendly. Am I ready for you to babysit her? No. As for the rest, you haven’t given us a reason to not want you around her.” Lyla told him. “Just promise me one thing. If she’s here and you’re having a ‘bad day’ which you will because recovery isn’t a straight line, you’ll stay away.”

“I can do that.”

* * *

 

**New York- January 2017**

“Where are we going?” Bucky asked Felicity as she drove away from the Compound.

Yesterday, Bucky met with his therapist and two Council members. They said he’d shown ‘a great deal’ of improvement in terms of his mental health. After some discussion, they chose to change Bucky’s status slightly. He could now leave the Compound unaccompanied as long as he returned by nightfall. He also wouldn’t need a team to go with him if he wanted to visit Felicity in Star City.

“We need to celebrate how far you’ve come.” The blonde told him.

“Not exactly a party guy.”

“That’s fine, it’s not a party.” Felicity told him.

The couple talked about a variety of things as they drove. They reminisced about their past lives, the good parts at least. They discussed Felicity’s work and her training with Nyssa and Faiza. They talked about school, since Bucky had started taking online classes at the suggestion of his therapist. After about an hour, they pulled up outside of a small restaurant.

“Dinner? Our celebration is dinner?” Bucky asked.

“Dinner, just the two of us. No chaperones or security feeds watching us. No one gawking at you.” Felicity told him. “They’re usually closed on Mondays. The chef’s an old friend and I called in a favor.”

“Why do all of this for me?”

“Because you’re the love of my life, of my several lives actually.”

* * *

 

**Coast City-March 2017**

Beep. Beep. Beep. Tommy Merlyn opened his eyes when the noise wouldn’t stop. He could tell the beeping was coming from nearby, but couldn’t figure out where. Looking around, Tommy could see he was in a hospital.

That didn’t make sense. The last thing he remembered was Ollie at CNRI. The building had collapsed, Tommy got Laurel out, but before he could get out of the building, it started to collapse. Ollie found him under the rubble. He kept saying how ‘it should’ve been him’ as Tommy lost conciosuness. He didn’t remember anything after that.

“Hello?” he called out, with a surprising hoarse voice. “Can someone help me?”

A terrified looking nurse came running into the room. “You’re awake.” She said like it was impossible.

“Yeah. Where am I? Where’s Ollie? Or Laurel?”

“Ollie?” the nurse asked.

“As in Oliver Queen. Where is he?” Tommy said slowly. He didn’t understand why his best friend wasn’t there.

“Oh my god. You’re Tommy Merlyn! We- I thought you were- I can’t believe it.” the nurse blurted out before remembering she needed to be professional.

“You thought I was what?”

“Dead. You disappeared during the Undertaking. Your body was never found. People thought it was retribution for your father’s part in it. A few hours after the quake stopped, Fire and Rescue found survivors in the debris. Your face was so banged up, we couldn’t ID you. You’ve been asleep for a long time.”

“How long?” Had it been weeks? Months? Years? Tommy really hoped it wasn’t years.

“It’s March 12, 2017.”

“Fou- Four years? I’ve been asleep for four years? Ollie and Laurel both think I’ve been dead for four years?”

The nurse just nodded. She offered to call someone for him, and Tommy picked Oliver.

Miles away in Star City, Oliver was getting out of a meeting when his phone rang. “Hello?”

“Is this Oliver Queen?”

“Yes. May I asked whose calling?”

“Nurse Thompkins from Coast City General Hospital. I was asked to call you on behalf of a patient.”

“I don’t know anyone in Coast City. I think you-“

“Ollie, please don’t hang up.” Tommy said into the receiver.

“T- Tommy? You- you’re- alive?”

“Yeah. Paramedics found me in the debris and took me to Coast City. They couldn’t ID me. I’ve been in a coma since that night.” He explained. “I know you’re probably busy with y _ou know_ but I-“

“Thea and I’ll be there soon. There’s a lot we need to talk about.”

* * *

 

**April 2017-Star City**

Team Arrow had a problem. That problem’s name was Prometheus. A few months ago, he’d shown up in the city and clearly wanted the Green Arrow’s attention. Killing the criminals he’d gotten arrested, setting up run-ins during patrol. No one could quite figure out why he was so keen to get the team’s attention.

“Sorry to make you fly across the country like this.” Oliver told Felicity apologetically. “It’s just- we’re stuck. Your programming runs the comms for us, but-“

“She’s not me.”

“She?” Thea asked.

“The Machine, or Mac as I like to call her. She has a female voice, she.” Felicity justified. “She learns and reasons, but hasn’t evolved to the point where she can predict unexpected outcomes. It takes time.”

A week passed and Team Arrow hadn’t caught Prometheus. The man had practically fallen off the map the second Felicity and Bucky arrived in the city. He wasn’t causing trouble in Star City, nor had he taken his schemes elsewhere. It stumped everyone.

The second day they were there, Bucky met Tommy Merlyn for the first time. He’d met Thea, Barry, Cisco and Oliver, officially, when they came to New York to sign the Accords. Tommy, Sara and Ray were the only friends of Felicity’s he hadn’t met so far.

“Hey, Smoakie!” Tommy yelled as he entered the soon-to-reopen Verdant. After being brought back from the dead, Tommy had decided to reopen the club. No one tried or wanted to talk him out of it. Tonight was Tommy’s ‘Back From the Dead’ party, although it wasn’t going to be as wild as Oliver’s was. The guest list was limited to Team Arrow, friends, Team Flash and a few Legends.

“Tommy! I told you not to call me that.” She yelled back in a joking-but-not-really voice.

“Hey man, Tommy Merlyn.” He said, holding a hand out for Bucky to shake. The soldier studied him before taking the hand. Tommy then turned to Felicity. “Do you have a bet with yourself or something where you try to find the scariest boyfriends possible?”

“That’s what I said!” Barry yelled from across the room. “I mean, no offense Barnes, but you’re terrifying. And so is Oliver. Or was I guess.”

“You know I can hear you, right?” Oliver asked. “And I can still shoot you with arrows.”

“No one’s shooting anyone at my ‘I’m not dead’ party.” Tommy insisted. “We declared tonight a No-Arrow zone.”

“What’s an ‘I’m not dead’ party?” Bucky asked.

“You come back from the dead, you get a party. When Ollie came back from the island, Tommy threw him this huge party. When Sara came back, Ollie threw her a party. Now that Tommy’s back from the dead, its his turn.” Thea answered. “Wait, we didn’t throw you one!”

“It’s okay. I’m not big on parties.”

“Your loss dude.”

* * *

 

**May 2017**

“Who’s a genius? I’m a genius. Who’s a genius? I’m a genius.” Felicity sang as she left her lab in the Compound.

“Why are you a genius?” Luke Cage asked her as she walked through the common room. He and the other Defenders visited the Compound once a month or so, and today was one such time.

“I figured out a way to contain Maximoff’s powers and it’s finally done.” The blonde explained.

“So that bitch can’t mess with anyone else’s minds.” Jessica Jones said. “Fucking finally.”

“It was probably sufficient weeks ago, but I wanted to be sure.” Felicity told her.

She didn’t know Jessica’s entire story, but Daredevil had told her the very basics. She’d been mind-controlled for an extended period of time and the experience left behind a lot of trauma. For obvious reasons, that meant Jessica didn’t like mind-control or anyone who could do it.

“When do we test it out?” Jessica asked sounding like she was looking forward to it.

“Hey, um, the Council just called a meeting.” One of the Compound staff said, poking his head into the room. “They want all of you there or Skyped in.”

* * *

**New York ARGUS Base-Twelve Hours Later**

In the last twelve hours, the Rogue Avengers had been pardoned. The UN located them and they signed the Accords. Lyla thought that was her one surprise of the day. Then, the Accords Council wanted to talk to her about some of ARGUS's prisoners and agents.

"The decision has been made, Director." the Brazilian representative on the Accords Council told Lyla. "The vote passed."

"I understand that. I want the record to show, however, that I argued against this and it's a mistake."

"Your concern has been noted." the Canadian delegate said. "Make the necessary arrangements and inform the necessary people of this development."

The only thing Lyla could think as the call ended was 'how am I supposed to tell Oliver and Thea?'

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Council's decision is revealed, the teams find out and the Rogues return. Also, another person is revealed to be alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter/story, the character Dinah Drake is based off of the character played by Juliana Harkavy on Arrow. However, she isn't a metahuman or going to become Black Canary. She's a former detective who went to work for the CIA after her partner was killed and was recruited to work with the Accords taskforce.
> 
> Anything with an asterisk next to it will be explained in the end of chapter notes.

**New Avengers Compound**

“We have to tell them. I have to tell them.” Felicity said to Lyla. “Oliver, Thea, Sara, Roy, they all deserve to know about this before the next briefing.”

“Why do they-“ Jennifer began to ask.

“Because Slade Wilson killed Moira Queen in front of both her children. He tried to kill Sara, and Laurel and me. He injected Roy with Mirakuru which nearly killed him. Amanda Waller almost levelled Star City just to kill him. And the Council just pardoned him and want him working with us.” Felicity said, sounding angrier than anyone had ever heard before.

“Why would they do that?”

“The Rogues.” Lyla said. “Pardoning them, it sets a precedent. And, unlike most of ARGUS’s prisoners, Slade Wilson had a long history of dedicated service before he turned. He’s half the reason Oliver made it off that island.”

“C’mon.” Felicity said standing up. “We need to tell them now.”

She and Lyla walked down the hallway and ran into Bucky. The former assassin seemed to be in a good mood.

"Hey, I was hoping you and I could- oh, you're angry right now. Never mind." He said to Felicity as he noticed her body language. "It can wait. I'm not the reason for your angry face, am I?"

"No, I'm not mad at you." She assured him. "I just- I have to tell my team something and I'm not looking forward to it."

"Oh. If you're up to it, find me afterwards. If you need to vent or anything." Bucky said before wishing them luck and walking away.

* * *

 

**Star City**

Oliver, Roy, Digg and Thea were in the lair sparring when an alert went off on one of the computers. Mac then started to speak. “There is an incoming video call from Felicity Smoak.”

“Then answer it or accept it or whatever the right word is.” Oliver said.

The video opened and Felicity and Lyla’s faces filled the screen.

“Where’s Sara? I told her to get here.” were the first words out of Felicity’s mouth.

“I’m here Blondie. Landing the Waverider’s a little harder than parking a car.” She said as she came out of the elevator. “I brought my team too. You said it was important.” The other Legends poured out of the elevator after her.

“it will be to some of them.” Felicity said vaguely. The blonde steeled herself and spoke. “As you know, the Accords Council pardoned the Rogue Avengers. Every time they got caught, or thought they might get caught, they ended up causing even more damage and destruction than when they were actually Avenging. The Council was spending too much time dealing with their mistakes instead of fulfilling the task force’s actual purpose. They decided to lose the battle so they could win the war. The Rogues signed the Accords a few hours ago. They did it without reading though, so they’re not getting the triumphant return they think.”

Lyla took over speaking. “Unfortunately, that sets a precedent. After they informed everyone of that decision, the Council voted on a different, but related, matter. In regards to fugitives and criminals arrested prior to the Accords inception.”

“And?” Jax asked.

“I argued heavily against this. Dozens of us argued against this.” Lyla justified before answering the question. “They pardoned Slade Wilson. And he’s been asked to join.”

“What?” Oliver, Thea, Sara, Roy, Digg and Ray* all said.

“It’s being announced tomorrow. I- we owed it to you to tell you beforehand. As of now, he won’t be working directly with any of you, so you don’t have to see him but-.” Felicity said.

“Where’s he being sent to?” Sara asked, shockingly calm.

“Here. They want to save time and have every ‘new addition’ briefed at the same time.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow, 10 am. There’s also the meeting of everyone working under the Accords the day after tomorrow. Why?”

“I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“No, you- you don’t have to.” Felicity told her.

“Slade and I need to get a few things straight.” Sara said. “And a few of us want a word with a member or two of the Rogue Avengers.” Behind her, Thea and Roy could be seen nodding.

“Some of you have jobs, you can’t just pick up and-“

“It’s two days. This is about our team.” Oliver told her. “We’re gonna be there.”

* * *

 

**New Avengers Compound**

The jet carrying the Rogue Avengers landed at eight am in New York. The door opened and Clint found himself looking at one familiar and one unknown face.

“Vic, you’re-“

“Do not call me Vic.” Victoria Hand* said harshly. “You will call me either Hand or Agent Hand.” She then turned to the others. “I’m Victoria Hand, this is Dinah Drake. Follow us.” Both women turned and walked away at a brisk pace, forcing the former fugitives to follow.

Steve was disappointed. The UN had pardoned them, they were forgiven. He’d expected Tony or at the very least Rhodes to be there to greet them. Instead, they had two women he didn’t know who seemed to hate them. He also wondered why Bucky wasn’t there to meet them. In Switzerland, they’d said Bucky lived at the Compound. If he was here, why didn’t he wait for them to arrive? Had they lied? Was Bucky not there? Were they preventing Bucky from seeing him?

Clint was taken aback. He thought Hand had died when Nat and Steve exposed Hydra. He was also shocked by her reaction to seeing him. Hand wasn’t the easiest person to work with, but her cold exterior seemed to have gotten near glacial since the last time he saw her.

 Sam was apprehensive and confused. He didn’t know who these women were, but clearly they weren’t to be messed with. He knew ‘pardoned’ didn’t mean ‘forgiven’ or ‘exonerated’. He only hoped they wouldn’t get the same reception from other people they’d be working alongside. Wanda was smug. Stark had lost. She was finally back home and she’d make him regret what had happened.

The group stopped in a conference room. Drake then spoke.

“I don’t know when the others are arriving and I’d like to get a few things out of the way. One, the Compound and its rules have changed. Those will be discussed during the meeting. Two, I am your liaison as you settle back into normal life. However, you will not bother me with any of your personal problems. If the world isn’t ending or it doesn’t have to do with the Accords, don’t bring it up to me. Three, Wednesdays at 10am we’ve got a weekly meeting until further notice. I don’t care what you have to move, reschedule or cancel, you need to be there or bring me proof you were actually dying. Four, if you don’t have access to an area, don’t try to enter it. It won’t end well. Five, all common areas are under 24-hour surviellance, so keep that in mind. Questions?”

“Where’s Nat?”

“She and the other ‘new addition’ we’re waiting on haven’t arrived yet.”

Twenty minutes later, Natasha was brought into the room. She looked paler, thinner and a little banged up, but otherwise fine. Clint asked where she’d been, but all she could say was ‘Middle East’. Pressing for details didn’t work either. The group fell into silence after that. a little after nine, two armed guards guided Slade Wilson into the room. Two minutes after that, a group of people none of the Avengers knew came in.

“Good morning.” Steve said, trying to be polite. He was promptly ignored.

“I was sorry to hear about your sister.” Slade said to the blonde woman in the group.

Before anyone could react, she had him by the throat and against the wall. “Do not bring up my sister unless you want to lose the other eye. Let me make one thing clear, Slade. I don’t care how reformed you may or may not be. I don’t care if the Mirakuru is out of your system now. If I even think you might turn or betray us, I’ll make you wish you’d died on that island.” Sara then let go and left the room.*

“Was that really necessary?” One of the Rogues asked.

“Was it necessary for you to talk?” Mick asked. “Last time I checked, our beef is with him, not you idiots.”

“Actually, its kinda with them.” Dinah said not looking up from her paperwork. “Their pardons are the only reason why he’s here. So, it’s kinda their fault.”

“Our fault? How is it-?” Steve asked indignantly.

“I got pardoned because the UN set a precedent when they pardoned you.” Slade said, finally addressing them. “And for the record, her reaction was fairly understated, considering.”

“Considering what?”

“I tried to kill her and her sister. Two of her friends, I killed their mother in front of them. The brunette man in the back, my men killed his fiancé.” Slade explained. “Can’t really blame them for being pissed.”

“You’re a murderer. Why would they pardon you?” Sam asked.

“That’s rich coming from a man who works with a woman who burned down a children’s hospital and killed everyone inside.”* Deathstroke remarked. He then turned to Natasha. “I’m a big fan of your early work.” He said sarcastically. “You all got pardoned, which led to my pardon. They’re pissed at you for that fact alone.”

“That’s a bit of a simplification.” A short, brunette woman said as she entered the room. “I, for one, dislike some of the Exvengers for reasons that have nothing to do with you.” Wanda had nearly killed Roy. That wasn’t something Thea was just going to let go.

“What are you-?” Clint was about to ask when another person came into the room. Wanda’s eyes widened and she looked away from what was going on. The new arrival glared but took seats.

It stayed like that for a while. Thea, Roy and the Legends talked among themselves. The Rogues were ignored. At five to ten, Nate Heywood came in.

“You know, she’s incredibly terrifying when she’s angry.” He told them.

“You just realized that?”

“When’s Tony getting here?’ Steve asked.

“You aren’t meeting with Mr. Stark.” Dinah said. “He had a previous engagement, so someone else will be running the meeting.”

“Well, when are they-?”

“They’re very busy people, Mr. Rogers.” Drake said curtly. “And they aren’t required to adhere to your schedule.”

Wanda snapped. This woman didn’t get to speak to them like that. They were Avengers, and she was just some government lackey. She’d tried to use her powers, only she couldn’t. She looked down and noticed she was wearing a bracelet she didn’t remember putting on.

“Missing something, Ms. Maximoff?” a voice said from the doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Explanations:  
> \- Ray angry about Slade being pardoned- his fiance Anna was killed during Slade's attack on Starling.  
> -Victoria Hand is alive- as a consequence of Flashpoint, Hand wasn't the agent escorting Garrett to prison, so Ward killed someone else when he outed himself as Hydra. She went into hiding until Maria Hill tracked her down.  
> -Sara's outburst- I think Sara would've reacted slightly less violently if Slade hadn't metnioned Laurel. Laurel's death is understandably a sore spot for her.  
> -Slade's snide comment about Nat- the MCU hasn't outright said it, but its heavily implied that Nat(before she joined SHIELD) started a fire at a children's hospital/ward. He made the comment for a few reasons. One, to get under their skin. Two, like Malcolm, he knows what he's done and accepts that some people hate him. Three, to point out the hypocrisy of the situation. He might be a villain, but some of the heroes are just as bad as him.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity meets Team Cap (it doesn't go as well as they think it will)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember that 'you didn't ask to be made' conversation Felicity and Bucky had? It comes back up. I'm a little mean to Team Cap in this chapter and the next few.
> 
> If you're a big Wanda fan, you're not gonna like this chapter.

**New Avengers Compound-Last Night**

Felicity walked into one of the common rooms where Bucky was flipping through the channels. As soon as the blonde came in, he muted the TV. She plopped down on the couch next to him and sighed. “That wasn’t fun. Even though I didn’t cause it, I still feel like part of this is my fault.”

“Sorry.” Bucky said, giving her hand a supportive squeeze. “What was it that you had to tell them?”

“I told you about Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, right?” She asked Bucky, who nodded. “He’s being pardoned and joining the team.”

“And you had to tell Oliver and Thea they’d be working with their mother’s killer?”

“And Sara that she’d be working with a man who tried to kill her and her sister. And Ray that Anna’s killer was pardoned. God, it- there was no way they’d react well, but I wish I could’ve at least told them in person.” Felicity explained. “What did you want to talk to me about earlier?”

“I- well, I was hoping- you like movies right?” he said nervously.

“Yeah, I like movies.” The hacker was getting a serious case of déjà vu.

“So, this theater about 40 minutes from here is playing a movie called _2001: A Space Odyssey_ the day after tomorrow. It’s on my ‘Movies to See’ list and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me. We could also get dinner, if you want.”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Felicity teased.

“Yeah, I am. What do you say?”

“Yes, duh. 2001 is one of my favorite sci-fi movies.” She said laughing slightly. “And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re my soulmate and we’re already dating. Did you think I’d say no?”

“No, I just- I didn’t want you to think I was counting on that alone to keep us together. Just because we’re soulmates doesn’t mean I should stop proving how much you mean to me.” He said sheepishly. “And I’m not good with words.”

“Aw, come here.” She said pulling him closer. “You might not be good with words, but your actions tell me everything I need to know. And you don’t need to prove anything to me, okay?”

Bucky nodded. “I’m sorry about your team. I know my return and Steve and his friends’ pardons are why they’re letting Slade go.”

“It was actually more them than you. I won’t lie, I’m kinda mad at all of them right now.” Felicity said. “I’ll be civil, but I’m still mad at Steve Rogers. I won’t promise to be nice to Maximoff though.”

“Me neither.”

 When Bucky first met Wanda, he felt unsettled around her. After learning her story, he understood why. Wanda wasn’t the innocent kid Steve claimed she was and he was starting to question how clear Steve’s judgement really was. 

* * *

 

**New Avengers Compound-Present**

“Missing something, Ms. Maximoff?” a voice said from the doorway.

The Avengers turned and saw two women standing there. One was a brunette who had a commanding air about her and stood like a soldier. The other was a shorter blonde, who dressed like an office worker, but gave off a ‘do not mess with’ vibe. No one knew which of the women had spoken. The two women walked to the other side of the room and took a seat.

“Sorry I’m late.” Felicity said, sounding not sorry at all. “I got sidetracked and dried blood is really hard to scrub off. My name is Felicity Smoak, this is Lyla Michaels, director of ARGUS.”

The blonde went back to organizing her papers when Wanda spoke. “You did something to my powers. What have you done to me?”

“Did you actually read your pardon before signing in?” Felicity asked her. “I’m guessing not, because if you did, you’d know that you agreed to having your powers dampened when not in a training session or on a mission. What do you think that bracelet does?” She looked back down at the paper in front of her. “And after the last year, I’d say it was necessary.”

“Necessary?” Steve began, indignantly. “Wanda isn’t a threat. She-“

“Negligently caused the deaths of over a dozen people in Nigeria, did untold damage to dozens of Markovian citizens when she violated their minds, collapsed a building, destroyed a city block, used her powers to kill a unit of US soldiers, influenced the minds of the survivors and tried to make them kill themselves.” Felicity said. “Tell me Wanda, do you recognize this man?” she pointed to Roy. “You did try to kill him.” She got back on topic. “It’s not a shock collar or a straight jacket. It stops you from accessing your powers without hurting you. You’ll survive.”

“You’re penalizing me just because-.”

“We’re not actually.” Lyla said curtly. “Penalizing implies you’re the only person being treated this way, and you aren’t. A number of mutant and Inhuman signees suggested power dampening for those unable to control their powers. The Council agreed with them. You’ve shown an inability to control your powers and very little restraint in using them.”

“What do I have to do to get it off?”

“Not really my call.”

“Fine.” She said angrily. The other Rogue Avengers looked angry too.

“Let’s make something clear. You might be pardoned, but for a lot of people, you aren’t forgiven.” Lyla said. “Your pardons weren’t without conditions. You signed them, you agreed to them, you don’t get to throw a tantrum now.” She then turned to Felicity. “I’ve said my piece, good luck with the rest.” She left.

“Why does she seem to hate us?” Sam asked.

“Well, when Rogers and Romanoff dumped all those Hydra files, it led to a whole bunch of ARGUS agents getting killed because you couldn’t be bothered to sift out active, non-Hydra operations from those files.” Sara said. “Oh, and one of the people your friend Wanda tried to kill in Markovia was her husband.”

“Isn’t that a conflict of interest?”

“You’re not reporting to her or under her authority, so no. She just wanted to speak her piece.” Sara said. “That’s all we wanted, too.” She and the Legends stood and left. Roy stayed.

“Now, about Wanda-.” Steve said, thinking he could reason with Felicity, since it seemed she was the best person to ask at the moment. Wanda was a good kid, she didn’t deserve to be treated like this.

“Uh, no. Nope. You’re gonna ask for my help getting that bracelet removed or finding some loophole. The answer is no.” Felicity said before he could finish. “Even if there was a loophole, I refuse to help her with this.”

“Why?”

“I have no sympathy for her, other than slightly feeling bad that her brother died. He was a Hydra agent though, so I don’t feel that bad. They walked into a Hydra base and volunteered to be experimented on. She was more than happy to use her powers to help Hydra, too. Instead, I have sympathy for those who didn’t choose what Hydra did to them. On top of that, she’s shown zero regard for how her actions have consequences or what those consequences are. That ends now.” Felicity said and the room was quiet for a few moments. “This meeting isn’t supposed to be about the individual conditions of your pardons, its about changes to the Compound, so let’s get back on track.”

“We know, we’re under watch and we need to behave.” Sam said, sounding exhausted.

“True, but there’s more.” The blonde said. “As you know, you’ll be living here. In general, the rule is if you break it, you buy it. Labs and workshops are off-limits to you unless invited by the person using them. The east wing of the Compound is also off-limits to you until further notice. You’ll be given badges which provide access to certain areas. If you don’t have access, it won’t let you in. As an aside, trying to break in to a restricted area is a very stupid move. That includes crawling through vents.” Felicity said, looking intently at Natasha and Clint. “During certain time slots, the gym and training areas are off limits.”

“Why?”

“They’re reserved for closed practices and training sessions.” She answered. Some closed practices were for those who signed the Accords using their alias. Others were for teams or individuals who’d required very specific training exercises or equipment. It didn’t make much sense for Barry to train at the same time as Rhodey or Spiderman. “You aren’t permitted to leave the grounds of the Compound without informing someone. ‘Someone’ means an agent or staff member, not each other. Anything you bring into the Compound must be checked for security purposes. Next, weapons aren’t allowed outside of training areas. Lastly, FRIDAY is in the Compound and will assist you should you need it. Right, FRI?”

“Yes, Ms. Smoak.” The AI answered.

“Ok, that covers what I needed to cover. Any questions?” Roy then raised his hand. “Any relevant questions?” His hand went down. She knew what Roy wanted to ask. He wanted to know if being a famous spy meant Natasha was really bad at her job. He and Thea had been joking about that for a week or so. One hand was still up, but Felicity ignored it. She could guess what Steve wanted to ask anyways. “Good. There’s a meeting tomorrow at nine am for all signees of the Accords. I’ve got somewhere else to be.” With that, the blonde turned and left the room.

“Wilson.” Victoria Hand said. Both Sam and Slade turned. “Slade Wilson. There’s one more item we need to take care of.” Hand and Slade left.

Agent Drake sighed and stood, gesturing for the others to follow. She led them down a corridor, through a security door, through a mostly empty common room and into a hallway. There were three doors on each side of the hallway.

“Pick your rooms, doesn’t matter which one. They’re all the same.” She told them. She pointed to a door at the end of the hall on the left. “That one’s occupied, so it’s the only one not up for grabs.”

“What about our stuff from before?” Wanda asked.

“It was put into storage when the Compound was renovated. I’ll find out where and let you know. Your belongings from Armenia are in the common room.” Drake said dismissively. “Get settled in, there might be some food in the kitchen. Cafeteria’s one floor down. One of the lawyers will find you to talk individually about the conditions of your stay.”

“Where’s Bucky?” Steve asked.

“No idea. I’m not his liaison. I saw him a few hours ago though, so I know he’s here.” Drake turned and left.

With a sigh, the group split up to search the rooms. Each one was exactly the same. Bedroom, bathroom, closet, office area consisting of a desk and computer and not much else. The rooms weren’t small by any means, but they were noticeably smaller than the team’s old rooms. Sam, Steve and Natasha took the three rooms on the right side of the hall. Clint and Wanda took the two on the left side. Everyone wondered who the last room belonged to.

* * *

 

**Felicity’s Lab**

While the Rogues were settling in, Felicity was recovering from her meeting with them. They were exhausting to deal with. The meeting had been less than an hour long, but it felt like six. She decided to calm herself down by brainstorming improvements for the Waverider. Eventually, she got lost in the numbers and didn’t hear Tony, Strange, Hope, Jennifer or Rhodey come in.

“How’d it go?”

“Took every inch of me not to punch someone. They aren’t happy. No one they’ve met so far wants to just forgive and forget. Thanks to Maximoff trying to hurt Dinah, they know about the dampener. I bet they’ll try and talk you into removing it.” She told Tony. “I purposefully left out the ‘it can’t be removed because mind control is a human rights violation’ bit. It wasn’t my job to explain it, anyways.”

“Why would they come to me if it’s your tech?” Tony asked.

“They don’t know its my tech. Or that you had almost no input. Knowledge is power.” The blonde smirked. “Anyway, I told them the rules. Except for the ‘not everyone wants you watching them train’ part, no one had any real objections.”

“That’s because they don’t realize how restricted their access is yet.” Jennifer said. They could pretty much only enter the common areas like the gym and conference room, and their wing of the building. One of the two training rooms was available to them and none of the labs or offices were.

“Ten bucks says someone tries to break into a restricted area by Friday.” Strange deadpanned.

“My money’s on Thursday.” Tony responded.

“I warned them it would be stupid to try. Any holes, however small, in FRIDAY’s code is covered by Mac’s and vice versa. Plus, the security doors and surrounding walls are made out of Keltium. That stuff repels nuclear blasts.” Felicity said. “And if they try the vents? Well, they really shouldn’t made me, Lyla or Pepper angry.”

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Hell also hath no fury like a livid CEO who owned the building, an enraged director of a law enforcement agency used to containing and securing enhanced individuals or a cybersecurity expert with access to technology from the future and a grudge. Felicity and Pepper both almost wanted the Rogues to try and infiltrate a secure area.

“Note to self: never piss any of you off.” Jennifer said.

“Yeah. Seriously though, how are you doing with this?” Felicity asked everyone, but mostly Rhodey and Tony.

“Fine. Thanks for taking that meeting though.” Tony told her.

He would’ve run the meeting with the Rogues if he had to, but Felicity nipped that idea in the bud. Tony didn’t need to be in that meeting, he didn’t particularly want to be there, so the blonde insisted she do it. in her mind, it was the least she could do for Tony after everything he’d done for her, Team Arrow and Bucky recently.

“Tomorrow’s gonna be the real test though.” Rhodey said. “They don’t fully realize what they agreed to yet, but they find out today. They’ll see all of us and try to justify their actions or talk about how unfair this is or how we’re punishing them.”

“Then, they’ll look like idiots in front of everyone else for being so short-sighted.”

* * *

 

**Steve’s Room**

It didn’t take long for the Rogues to get settled in their new homes. They unpacked their belongings from Armenia and then stayed in their rooms while they each thought about everything that had happened over the last few days.

Sam and Steve had knocked on the unknown person’s door, but didn’t get a response. After waiting for a few minutes and knocking again, they determined he or she wasn’t there. As the frustration Steve felt during the meeting wore off, he began getting more and more upset that he hadn’t seen Bucky yet. He suddenly thought of something. FRIDAY was an AI, Tony might be mad at him, but computers didn’t have feelings. If he asked her where Bucky was, she’d have to tell him.

“FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Mr. Rogers?”

“It’s Captain.”

“My records indicate that it is not. How can I help you?”

“Where’s Bucky?”

“Sergeant Barnes isn’t currently in the Compound. I’m unaware of his location.”

“He isn’t here?!”

“At the moment, it would appear not.” Secretly, FRIDAY was happy Steve was getting so frustrated. She’d witnessed his poor treatment of Tony for nearly two years, and his current predicament and annoyance felt like just deserts to her.

FRIDAY wasn’t lying, she didn’t know where Bucky was, but Mac, Felicity’s AI, did. He was currently at the New York Library, where he went every Tuesday, trying to catch up on the last seventy years of history. His therapist encouraged it, saying routine was good. He occasionally used that time to find out what happened to his family and the other Howling Commandos. Those days, he was rarely in a good mood when he came back.

Steve stewed in his anger for a few hours. He was angry no one seemed to like him, angry that his team of heroes were being roped in with a murdered like Slade Wilson. Angry about what Felicity had said about Wanda. Angry Bucky wasn’t there. Angry FRIDAY refused to find Bucky for him. Angry he had to sign the Accords.

Two hours after asking FRIDAY for help, there was a knock on Steve’s door.

“What is it, Sam?”

“Not Sam.” Someone said from the other side.

He raced over to open the door. “Bucky?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky reunite, the Rogues find out exactly what they agreed to, Sara and Felicity talk, and Faiza might've made a mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder, Ersin Fortuna is the shaman who helped Oliver figured out how to beat Damian Darhk's magic.

**Rogue Avengers Wing**

“Bucky?”

“Hey Stevie.” He answered nervously.

Steve looked his friend over. Bucky looked healthier than the last time he saw him. in Romania Bucky had been surviving, now it looked like he was actually living. He also didn’t seem as on edge as he was before. Most notably, Bucky had two arms again. He was wearing long sleeves, but from what Steve could see, this new arm was gun-metal grey and a lot sleeker than the one Hydra gave him. Steve wondered what it was made of. Vibranium would’ve been his first guess, but after his talk with T’Challa, he wasn’t convinced the king would allow that.

“You look….better. Is it gone? The conditioning? When did you wake up? Why didn’t you tell me? Or try to find me after? Tony didn’t try anything, did he? As revenge or anything?”

“Give me a sec to answer, will ya?” Bucky joked. “The words are gone, or my conditioned reaction to the words are gone. I didn’t exactly keep up with the scientists’ explanation. The memories I still struggle with. I woke up in October when they were finished.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me you were awake? Or find me? I could’ve helped. I would’ve helped.”

“I know that. It’s just- there were some things I needed to figure out. On my own.” He said. “Then, the UN made that announcement and I had a decision to make.”

“T’Challa still should’ve told me. I can’t believe you let him talk you into surrendering.”

“I asked King T’Challa not to tell you. I just said I wasn’t ready to see you. You can’t be mad at him for something I decided on.” Bucky justified. “And the king didn’t ‘talk me into’ anything. I asked his opinion, yes. But I also asked his sister, a few of the Dora Milaje, and several others for theirs. They gave it, but ultimately left the decision up to me.”

“You should’ve found me though. We could’ve used you on the team. No one would’ve found you that way.”

“No one was looking for me. But they were looking for you, and by the time I’d gone to the embassy, they already knew where you were.”

“No, they didn’t. We blended in, they would’ve come to-“

“You were in Denmark. Lang turned himself in and you went to Belarus. You almost got caught a few days later, so you went to Kosovo. They found you in Armenia.” Bucky said. “Almost everyone here already knew where you were. They watched from a distance until they came up with a plan about what to do next.”

Steve was in complete shock. The agents who took them to Switzerland hinted the UN knew where they were, but Steve thought they were either bluffing or only knew for a few hours.

“It was good that I came here though. I like my therapist. Being around people who aren’t scared of me helped a lot. So did having Felicity and her friends around.”

“Felicity as in Felicity Smoak? The blonde woman I was just in a meeting with? She helped you?” he asked incredulously.

Internally, Bucky winced. He knew Felicity’s meeting with the Rogues didn’t go well. She hadn’t given them the answers or reception they wanted and they were faced with people who had very good reasons to be angry at them. Felicity treated them like she did a business associate she didn’t particularly care for. She was civil, if a little cold. The Rogues, from what Felicity, Lyla, Roy and Mac told him, weren’t happy at the treatment.

“Yeah. In more ways than I can explain.” Bucky said. “Anyway, I know either Nelson or Walters is gonna come talk to you soon. Just wanted to say hi.” He turned to leave.

“Wait. Where are you staying in the Compound? I’ll find you afterwards and we can talk more.” Steve was hoping he’d be their mystery neighbor or at least nearby.

“Two floors up and all the way over.” Bucky told him. “Until you get your access cards, I don’t think you’ll be able to get there.” He left, closing the door behind him.

About five minutes later, FRIDAY informed all the ex-fugitives that they were needed in the common room. They entered to find one of the lawyers from Switzerland talking to an unknown brunette man with shaggy hair and a blonde haired woman.

“Good, everyone’s here. Take a seat.” The unknown man said. “My name is Foggy Nelson. This is Marci Stahl. You already know Ms. De la Vega. We’re here to go over the technicalities of your agreement.”

“Take this off of me.” Wanda bit out, gesturing to the bracelet on her wrist.

“We can’t do that.”

“They don’t know what they’re talking about. Wanda’s powers are just fine and she can control them. Tony’s just being stubborn.” Steve said. “If I could just talk to him-.”

“Mr. Stark had nothing to do with the conditions of your pardons, which you’ve already been told.” Joanna said. “Besides, even if her powers were in control, we couldn’t remove it.”

“Why not?”

“One, we don’t know how. Two, part of her abilities involve mental manipulation. The UN has declared mind control, in any form, to be a human rights violation.” The team looked shocked. “From what I know, if she shows improvement, the amount her other powers are dampened will be lowered, but that ability will always be blocked.”

“Could we focus?” Marci asked. “I know Ms. Smoak has already gone over some of the Compound rules, but those apply to all residents. There are some additional restrictions for you five for now. One, you cannot leave the Compound unless you are accompanied by a staff member level seven or higher.”

“We’re prisoners here?” Sam asked.

“No, you can leave, just not on your own. This is for two reasons. One, a great deal of people are unhappy with the UN’s decision and we’d like to avoid any public incidents. Two, this is a secure facility and people leaving on a whim jeopardizes that security. This rule will be reevaluted at a later date. Rule Two, there are to be no physical altercations with other residents. If there are, it will be dealt with and considered a very serious violation of the Compound rules.”

“So, Stark attack us but we can’t defend ourselves.” Clint said.

“Everyone is expected to follow this rule. However, two of you attacked another resident and threw him through several floors of this building.” Stahl said. “Three, you need to have your access card, which Mr. Nelson will give you shortly, with you at all times. They aren’t interchangeable, so you can’t just borrow someone else’s. You lose yours, you need to request a replacement. Lastly, you all will undergo physical and psychological evaluations in the next week. Every few months after that, you’ll be asked to undergo another psych evaluation. Those are the general conditions. As for the individual conditions, who’d like to go first?”

“Anything you want to say to one of us, you can say to all of us.” Steve said. Marci raised an eyebrow, silently asking the others for their opinions. They all nodded.

“Very well. Foggy?”

“Guess I’ll start with Mr. Wilson. The EXO wings stay locked up in the training area unless you’re doing a training session or on an active mission. The military has also dishonorably discharged you.”

“I suppose Mr. Barton is next. Your wife filed for divorce shortly after your arrest. Her request was granted due to you not appearing in court. You’ve also lost custody of your children. You’re permitted to see them, but only on Compound grounds and under supervision.”

“I can’t see my kids unless I’m being babysat?”

“Those were your ex-wife’s conditions.” Nelson said. “You’re also not to contact her. Any communication must be through her attorney. Ms. Romanov, you’re not to have any contact with Mr. Barton’s family either. Your Widow Bites are also forbidden outside of the armory or training areas. Additionally, should Dr. Banner return, you cannot be within 100 feet of him unless another person is present. Ms. Maximoff, you already know about the dampening bracelet, so I don’t need to go over that one. I’m required to inform you that any attempt to remove it will result in disciplinary action up to and including your removal from the team and arrest.”

“If she tries to take it off you’ll arrest her? That’s a bit extreme, don’t you think?” Sam asked.

“The concern is if she succeeds in removing it, however unlikely, and the resulting damage that would ensue. If she injures someone, or worse kills them, then yes, she’ll be arrested.”

“Given how well that thing’s designed though, I wouldn’t worry too much about that happening.” Joanna remarked.

The bracelet was an alloy of Vibranium, melted from the shield Howard Stark made, and Keltium, courtesy of Cisco. It could survive temperatures close to absolute zero and as high as 5800 Kelvin. It was imbued with multiple forms of magic and could only be removed by three people, all of whom had to be present to enter their access codes. Any attempt to remove it set off an alarm which would inject a sedative into her system and alert the necessary authorities.

“Lastly, Mr. Rogers. Your ceremonial title of ‘Captain’ has been revoked. Someone did some digging and it turns out you aren’t actually military, just a civilian contractor. This shouldn’t shock you, but you aren’t getting that shield back. Additionally, and again this shouldn’t be a surprise, you’re no longer a field leader. I don’t know who you’re new CO will be.” Marci said. “All team related information, including protocols and organizational structure is in the packet we’re about to give you. Read at least some of it before the meeting tomorrow.”

* * *

**East Wing**

“Man, tomorrow’s gonna be exhausting.” Sara Lance sighed as she sat down on one of the common room couches.

“It’s definitely gonna try everyone’s patience.” Felicity responded. “Just be glad you don’t have to deal with them as often as I probably do. Wanna start a betting pool?”

“About what?”

“Anything having to do with that meeting: Who loses it first. How long before someone brings up ‘burying the hatchet’. How many times Oliver gets the ‘I want to shoot you’ look on his face in the one meeting. Which one of our friends has the most savage comeback to the Rogues. You name it.”

“We both know the savage comeback winner’s either gonna be Thea or Killer Frost.”

“No, it could also be Nyssa.” Felicity argued.

“She’s coming?”

“She’s not quite done messing with Romanov’s head. She still hasn’t realized that her ego and her lack of awareness is why Nyssa went after her, not any one thing she did. Plus, it’s time for our weekly ‘State of the League’ conversation.” Felicity said. “My one hope is that Rogers doesn’t pull the ‘Wanda’s not dangerous’ card or the ‘she’s just a kid’ card. My Loud Voice and my Special Skills will make an appearance if he does.”

“I kinda hope he does, then. Nyssa and Faiza were tight-lipped and I wanna see what you can do.”

Felicity had told Team Arrow, Team Flash, Sara and a few others that could do abnormal things. That was all she told them though. Some thought she might not even be human, others thought she might be a witch, like Constantine, but use a different branch of magic. Either way, most of them were curious to see it in person. Felicity wasn't so sure she wanted them to see it.

* * *

**Nanda Parbat**

Esrin Fortuna looked around the League’s headquarters with mild interest. “I don’t recall this place being so drab during my last visit.” After Felicity remembered her past, Esrin reached out to Faiza, knowing she’d be the most likely person the blonde would reach out to. The pair had been keeping a close watch on Felicity ever since. Faiza knew Felicity wasn’t a witch, but she had no idea how Felicity could do what she could do. Witches required the use of spells, all of Felicity’s abilities didn’t need spells or totems or other assistance. They just….happened.

“Several centuries have passed.” Faiza told her.

“Indeed they have.” She admitted. “Tell me of Felicity Smoak’s progress.”

“She doesn’t know what she is. I don’t know what she is or what she can do. She hasn’t realized that all of my ‘teachings’ is based off of accounts from Laila’s life of her powers. No spells, no chanting. I ask her to try something, like telekinesis, just to see if she can, and she does it flawlessly despite never getting an explanation beyond 'move the phone without touching it'. I cannot honestly claim to have taught her anything.”

“What abilites has she demonstrated so far?”

“She’s aware of her past lives, and of other’s past lives, and not just her soulmate’s. She’s shown both telepathic and telekinetic abilities. As a test, I asked her to look into the past, to the year 1273 BC, to gauge any clairvoyant ability. She told me the birth name of the Demon Head at that time, verified by the Shadow Records.”

“She has some clairvoyant and psionic ability.”

“I wasn’t finished.” Faiza said. “She teleported without being taught how. And then there’s the window incident.”

“Window incident?”

“In passing, someone else mentioned the name of someone Felicity dislikes. She shattered all the windows in her loft and the pieces disintegrated.”

“Completely disintegrated?” Esrin asked, sounding both intrigued and scared. “How strongly did she seem to dislike the individual?"

"It was Damian Darhk, so you can imagine the answer for yourself."

"Have there been any incredibly rare, abnormal abilities she’s shown? Pyrokinesis? Flight? Increased strength? Shape-shifting?”

“No.” Faiza paused for a moment. “She did bring a dead plant back to life.”

“She revived a dead plant?”

“Yes. She, she’d finished her daily combat training, and she noticed one of the plants in her loft looked dead. She touched it and it immediately turned green and looked healthy. Come to think of it, a similar thing has happened the two times she visited Nanda Parbat this century. The garden began thriving, which is rare in this heat.” Nanda Parbat was practically the desert, a garden filled with lush plants should've stood out.

“We may have been wrong six months ago.” Esrin said as she gathered her things and rushed out of the compound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short explanation: Constantine and Faiza both sensed energy around Felicity at one point or another. It seemed to be mystical energy, albeit an incredibly high amount of it. They didn't know it was mystical, they assumed it was mystical. Now, Esrin isn't so sure.
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some bonding happens, the Rogues meet everyone else and windows are broken.

**New Avengers Compound**

Felicity and Sara talked for another hour or so about random things when Felicity asked a question that had been bugging her for months.

“Since Nyssa’s gonna be here, does that mean you’re actually gonna stay after the meeting?” Felicity asked Sara.

“What are you-?”

“I don’t mean to brag, but I’m really smart. Neither of you will admit it, but I know you’re kinda, sorta back together.” The hacker answered. “You’re both way happier and everyone’s noticed. No point in lying.”

“Are we really that obvious?” Sara asked. She and Nyssa had gotten back together shortly before Tommy woke up. Both wanted to keep things quiet for a while.

“To a random person? No. But to the people who know you, yeah. We didn’t say anything because we figured you’d do it when you were ready. It’s not the same situation, but after the last year, I can relate.”

“It’s just- awkward you know? I mean, my ex is her ex-husband who’s also your ex-fiance and we’re all on okay terms but-“

“It feels a little incestuous for some reason. I’m glad she stopped calling him her husband though. That made me uncomfortable even after we split up.” She said. Sara gave her a strange look. “Ra’s forced them to get married. Nyssa’s a lesbian who was forced to marry a man because it suited her homophobic and misogynistic father’s agenda. You’d think she’d be the last person to want to remember that.”

Sara didn’t have anything to say to that, so she responded with, “Nyssa and I’ll probably get dinner or something after the meeting. Or spar. Sparring’s good, usually ends with one of us naked.”

“And you wonder how everyone knew you two were together.” The hacker teased.

Sara was about to make a comment when Bucky came into the room. “Hey, there you are. I was-“

“That’s my cue to leave.” Sara said, getting up. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She said suggestively to Felicity.

“Sorry, did I interrupt?” Bucky asked.

“No, we were just talking. What’s up?”

“I saw Steve. We talked. He’s…..different.”

“Well, it’s been seventy years for him too.” She told him. “Was this a good different? Bad different? You’re the only person who’d know.”

“I’m not sure yet. On one hand, he kept asking me questions about the last year and seemed interested in what I answered. On the other, if he didn’t like what I said, he blamed someone else. I asked T’Challa not to tell him I woke up, but he thought the king made the decision by himself. Stuff like that. it felt like he was listening, but not hearing me.”

“He’s had a stressful few days.” She told him, trying to sound helpful. “I guess we’ll see tomorrow. That’s gonna be a packed meeting.”

“It is?”

Usually, only the residents of the Compound and one of the Defenders went to those meetings. With the Legends, Team Arrow and Team Flash living in different states, they either were sent meeting minutes after the fact or attended via conference call.

“Team Arrow, Team Flash, the Legends, the X-Men, the Defenders, everyone living here plus the new arrivals are going.” She answered. “I don’t know if it’s to show some kind of solidarity with Tony or because they want a word with the Rogues. Either way, I’m bringing a whole bunch of aspirin and coffee.”

“We’re still going to the movies, right?”

“Yeah, we are. Unless someone wants to fight me.” she answered. “I don’t suppose you’re also free right now?”

“I am. What do you have in mind?”

“You and me, plus a pizza, wine and Netflix.” She proposed.

“What kind of pizza and what on Netflix?”

“Any kind except anchovies and anything that isn’t too much of a ‘boy’ film. I love you, but I’m not watching Fight Club.”

* * *

 

**Compound Conference Room-Next Day**

When Felicity and Bucky got to the meeting the next day, almost everyone else was there. The X-Men, represented by Professor Xavier, Logan and Storm, were talking amongst themselves. Tony, Rhodey, and the New Avengers were seated as far from the Rogues as possible. Steve kept trying to catch Tony’s eye and was ignored. Sam, Clint and Natasha sat with blank looks on their faces. The Defenders sat looking bored, except Jessica Jones who was glaring a hole into Wanda’s head.

Team Arrow, the Legends and Team Flash were all talking. Oliver and Barry were the only ones in costume. Killer Frost kept sending unimpressed looks at the Rogue Avengers and Thea kept glaring at Wanda. Hope, Scott and Ray were discussing their respective suits. Mick was still asleep and didn’t come to the meetings anyway. The blonde walked over to her team and started talking.

“The Flash was on time?” she asked.

“Yeah. We know, we all owe Sara money.” Roy grumbled. “The one day he’s on time.”

“I can’t believe you started a betting pool on how late we’d be.” Cisco said.

“Not you, him.” Felicity responded, pointing to Barry. “He has superspeed, yet he’s constantly late.”

Barry was about to argue when Nyssa entered the room. Natasha stiffened upon seeing her. Clint shot her a confused look but the redhead didn’t speak.

“What are you doing here?” Oliver asked.

“It is the will of Laila al Ghul, Bride of the Demon.”

“Why would she-?’

“Ask her yourself, if you must know.” Nyssa said irritated before sitting down. No one except Nyssa, Felicity, Bucky, Sara and Faiza knew who Laila al Ghul was, so his chances of getting an answer were slim.

Before anyone else could say anything, Everett Ross came in and began the meeting. The first half hour was the usual, boring stuff. Updates to the Accords were gone over, new rules of the Compound were discussed and debated. A few announcements were made about situations overseas that the UN was keeping a close eye on.

The second half hour was incredibly dull for everyone. Ross and Rhodey went over everything mentioned in the updated Accords from team formation guidelines to field operations to the amendment process. Team Cap barely listened. After the very long and boring hour, Ross opened the floor up for questions.

“What about money?” Steve asked. “I know we get a stipend but-“

“Anything else is your responsibility.”

“Jennifer, you owe me $10 bucks. They didn’t actually read the packet.” Tony remarked.

“How?”

“It’s called a job. Everyone else here has one.”

Killer Frost meanwhile, started laughing at the Rogues’ confused faces. “Wait, you really thought you wouldn’t need to get jobs like everyone else? We take care of ourselves but you get a free ride. And they say I’m cold.”

Almost everyone else wasn’t laughing. They were furious at the arrogance that Team Cap had. It was quiet as they tried to come up with a defense or a better way to make the argument. Eventually, they realized they didn’t have a leg to stand on.

“What do I have to do to get this thing off of me?” Wanda asked.

“Can I make something clear?” Felicity said, speaking for the first time. “By now, everyone knows about the use of dampeners in this compound. Everyone in a similar situation agreed to the condition without complaint. Additionally, everyone knows that you’ve has been informed by more than one person about this. No one’s gonna take your side on this very reasonable decision.”

“So my powers-“

“Your powers fuck with people’s heads. I, for one, will put you in a fucking grave before I let that happen.” Jessica growled out.

“Bitching about your powers being dampened isn’t gonna garner sympathy.”

“What’s your problem with her?” Clint asked. “Or are you just assholes to everyone?”

“Yes, let’s ask the worst archer in the room for his opinion.” Thea said. "If you must know, a few people in this room have been victims of mind control. They aren’t really fans. They also aren’t fans of people who defend the use of it.”

“She’s just a kid!” Steve exclaimed.

Every window in the conference room exploded at once and the room got deadly silent. Several people left at this point. “She’s twenty-six. She’s not a kid. She’s an adult who’s made her own choices but refuses to own up to them. Stop making excuses for her. Meeting adjourned.” Felicity said before leaving. Everyone else, except Team Cap and a few stragglers, left with her.

“Wow. I knew you weren’t that bright. I didn’t know you were that dumb.” Slade remarked.

“So he made her angry. Who even is she anyway?” Clint asked. “You don’t even know her.”

“She’s the reason my plan to completely destroy Starling failed. I don’t like her, and she hates me, but I know better than to get on that woman’s bad side.” Slade said as he left.

“Felicity Smoak is a brilliant computer scientist. She’s one of the 10 smartest people alive. She’s the one who found all of you. Back in November I might add.” Strange answered.

“And it took her less than an hour.” Hope remarked. “What he’s trying to say is, making her dislike you this early on is a bad idea.”

They left, leaving the Rogues alone in the room wondering what had just happened. Steve and Natasha looked at one another before leaving to try and find Tony.

* * *

**Compound Hallway**

"Tony. Wait, Tony!" Steve shouted as he ran down the hallway.

Tony stopped in his tracks, took a deep sigh and turned. "What is it, Rogers?"

"I wanted to talk, just to clear the air."

Stark wasn't surprised to hear that. Of course Steve wanted to explain how he'd only done what was right and how he never meant for things to play out the way they did. "Can you make it quick? I've got somewhere to be."

"Well, this is kinda important." Steve said, amping up to his 'Disappointed Cap' face. "Surely, you can be a little late."

"No, I can't. I've got responsibilities beyond whatever it is you want right now." Tony said. "So, give me the short version now or wait."

"It's not that easy."

"Then I guess you'll have to wait." Tony said continuing down the hallway. Steve tried to follow him, but one of the doors slammed closed and FRIDAY told him he didn't have the proper clearance to go any further.

* * *

**Gym**

Sara, Bucky and Digg all found Felicity in the gym about ten minutes later. She was taking her frustration out on a punching bag. They approached her with caution, not wanting to startle her. She kept punching the bag until she noticed someone in the corner of her eye.

"I take it that was you with the windows?" Digg asked.

"Yup."

"So, you can blow things up with your mind." Sara said.

"That's not all. I'm- something, I just don't know what. But the windows were me. It's happened before." The blonde said. "'I was talking to someone and they mentioned Damian Darhk. Next thing I know, the loft needs new windows."

 

"I'm sorry." Bucky said out of nowhere.

"Why're you apologizing?" Digg, Felicity and Sara asked.

"Because my friend made her angry. Which happened because he'd rather stick his head in the sand than face the truth. Partly because of me. He sees me and Maximoff as being the same. He won't admit she's dangerous because then he'd have to admit that I'm dangerous and he refuses to do that." Bucky said.

"Which is why I knew I'd get angry if he pulled the 'poor Wanda, just a confused kid' card. He can't see the difference between what happened to you and she volunteered for. Equating the two situations is unfair to you." Felicity said. 

"The others are gonna have questions about what just happened." Sara pointed out.

"I really don't care. A few people knew I could do that, so I wasn't exactly decieving anyone." the blonde answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was kinda a 'blah' chapter, but I needed to get a few things out of the way already (like the Team Iron Man-Team Cap 'reunion')
> 
> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rogues are told some truths, Felicity and Bucky go on a date, and Felicity has some great friends.

**Rogue Avengers Wing**

“Well, that was a bust.” Sam said as he sat down on one of the couches in the common room.

“That meeting was a waste of time.” Clint scoffed.

“No, it wasn’t. Except for the end of the meeting, it went pretty well.” Natasha told him. From her perspective, they knew where they stood now. Years of experience profiling people told her which people were neutral and which ones hated the Rogues. It was a good starting place.

“They hate us.” The archer shot back.

“Most of them don’t, you idiot. They’re pissed, but most of them don’t hate you.” Slade interjected. “What did you think would happen? Did you think you’d just walk back in here and everyone would forget the last year happened? You can’t undo what’s been done.”

“Why’re you even here? You don’t live in this wing.”

“I’d rather not be stuck in an elevator with three people I tried to kill.” He said walking towards the stairwell.

By now, Steve had returned to their wing. “Any luck with Stark?”

“He said he had somewhere to be, went into the east wing and I couldn’t follow after him.” Steve said. “Anyone know what happened with the windows?”

“Probably one of the mutants.” Nat guessed. “What’s our next move?”

“Talk to Stark, obviously. Make him see our point. He set all these rules, he can change them.” Clint answered.

“He’s not the only person we need to convince.”

“I’ve got a better idea.” A voice said from the doorway. Everyone jumped to their feet and turned to see Sara standing there. “Why don’t you actually act like you feel bad for what happened and try to make amends instead of assuming everyone just hates you and whining about the fact you were on the losing side?”

“What are you doing here?”

She scoffed and walked into the communal kitchen. “Relax. If I wanted revenge or whatever, I wouldn’t announce I was here. I’m here to get my candy stash. I had to hide it from….certain others.” She began going through the cabinets. “Pretend I’m not here.” They stood watching her warily as she dug through the cabinets.

“Why’d you hide it here?” Sam asked eventually.

“Because it’s the last place anyone would look.” She said shrugging. She went back to looking and her phone started to ring. “What?.....Why are you asking me what Felicity likes?.....Fair enough….Take a breath, she already likes you a lot. You won’t mess it up.” She hung up. “Well, enjoy the pity party you all are having.”

“It’s not a pity party.”

“Really? Because when I walked in, you all were sitting around like ‘boo hoo, I made bad choices and now no one likes me. I’m gonna go eat worms because they didn’t accept my not-apology and don’t want to be my friend anymore’. Sounds like a pity party to me.” she turned and left.

The Rogues all looked at each other and realized Sara was right.

“I’m gonna go try and find Bucky.”

“Going for a run.”

“I’ve got Netflix to catch up on.”

“I’m gonna convince an intern to tell me where Laura is.”

They all went their separate ways.

* * *

**Communal Kitchen**

Wanda wandered through the common area, trying to figure out what to do. She wanted the stupid bracelet removed. She wanted to talk to Vision. She wanted to make Stark pay for imprisoning her. Mostly, she just wanted things to go back to before Nigeria.

She was pulled out of her stupor when Lang entered the room. "Hey..." He said awkwardly.

"Do you know where Vision is?"

"Probably the east wing, where you can't go." He remarked.

"We are friends. Why would he do that?"

"You threw him through like six floors. Why would he want to be around you?" Lang asked before walking away.

 

* * *

**Dinah Drake's Office**

Dinah Drake gave Clint a blank look. The archer had just stormed into her office, demanding to know where Laura was. When every agent had given him the run-around, he decided to go straight to his liaison.

"What part of 'don't bother me with your personal issues' managed to confuse you?" Drake asked. "Better yet, what part of 'she doesn't want to see or talk to you' is hard for you to understand?"

"They're my family!"

"Not anymore." she responded. "So, you won't be finding her with any help from me."

"Why not? SHIELD found civilians before, no questions asked."

"Some of that 'no questions asked' mentality is how Hydra managed to infiltrate in the first place." She argued. "She doesn't want to see you, she doesn't have to see you. Now get out of my office." 

* * *

 

**East Wing**

_Two floors up and all the way over._ Steve repeated the words Bucky had told him as he walked through the Compound. At first, he tried to go up two floors and then over to the other side of the compound. Unfortunately, his ID badge wouldn’t let him go any further on the fifth floor than the point where the three wings converged. When he asked a passing agent, Steve was told going to the ground floor was the fastest way.

He trudged back down the stairs and made his way over to that wing’s entrance. He swiped his badge, and nothing happened. “Uh, FRIDAY? Why isn’t the door opening?”

“You don’t have access to this area.” FRIDAY answered.

“Why not?”

“The east wing is off limits to you.”

“Why?”

“I am not at liberty to say.”

“Because her boss and my boss don’t want you there.” Another robotic voice explained.

“What was that?”

“My name is Mac. FRIDAY and I share responsibility for this compound.”

“Tony wrote another program?” Steve was incredulous. This could easily become another Ultron.

“Mr. Stark isn’t my creator.” Mac answered.

“Then who-?”

“That doesn’t matter, does it? You’re trying to access a wing you’ve been told is off limits. We will not open the door.”

“I just want to see Bucky.”

“I’ll pass the message along.” Mac answered.

Barnes and her creator had plans for tonight. Plans they both seemed excited about, if her readings and current understanding of human behavior was correct. Mac wasn’t going to let some mopey, star-spangled fool get in the way. Especially not after he made Felicity so angry earlier. Or made things so confusing for her second favorite human, Bucky.

* * *

 

**Upstairs**

Bucky was sorting through his closet, trying to decide what to wear. He hadn’t been on a date in seventy years. Society had changed since then.  Clothes had changed a lot. Everything had changed. Was a suit too dressy for the movies? Were jeans and a long-sleeve shirt too casual?

“This didn’t used to be so difficult.” He said to himself. “You never had to take her out on dates in a past life.” He reminded himself.

“I need help.” He finally admitted before leaving his room and heading downstairs.

He braced himself as he knocked on the door in front of him. The five seconds he had to wait for Roy to answer seemed like five years. “Yes?”

“I kinda- I need some help.”

“With what?”

“Felicity and I are going on a date tonight. And I haven’t dated since the 40s.”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because I don’t have a lot of other options here. Asking one of her exes seems like a bit much.” He explained. “I just need to know what’s appropriate clothes for dinner and a movie.”

“Depends on where dinner is.” Thea called from inside the room.

“There’s a small Italian restaurant down the street from the theater.”

Thea walked over to the door to see him. “Dark wash jeans, button up shirt or Henley. I’d go with the dark blue one, it’ll bring out your eyes.”

“She’s right about that.” Roy remarked.

“I gotta go.” Thea said. “If you’re having a ‘what do I wear’ crisis then so is Felicity.”

“Thanks for your help.” Bucky told both of them before walking away.

Thea went to Felicity’s room to find Lyla, Jennifer and Sara already there.

“This one?” she asked holding up a dark blue dress.

“Nope.” Thea said. “I have it on good authority he’s wearing blue. You don’t want to look too match-y. I’d go with purple. You look good in purple.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to be too dressed up.” The blonde asked as she went back into her closet.

“Sweetie, breathe. You two are crazy about each other. That’s not gonna change anytime soon.” Lyla told her.

An hour later, there was a knock on Felicity’s door. She opened the door to find a very nervous-looking Bucky Barnes standing there. “Hi…”

“Hi. You look…” Bucky trailed off as he struggled to find the right word.

“Thanks. Ready to go?” She asked.

“Yup.” He said as they headed out. “You like Italian food, right?”

“Yeah. Who doesn’t like Italian?” Felicity responded.

“Look at those two dorks.” Sara said, watching from the window as the couple left.

* * *

 

**A few hours later**

“I had a really nice time tonight.” Felicity told Bucky as they drove back.

“Me too. I can see why the movie’s a classic. Even though the ending was weird.”

“Yeah, no one knows what that ending actually means. Is the Star Child Dave? Does it represent mankind? Did Kubrick just think it looked cool? We’ll never know.”

“I’m sorry…..for what happened at dinner.” Bucky said after a moment.

Dinner had been going well at first. Then, somewhere else in the restaurant, a bottle of champagne was opened. The popping noise triggered Bucky’s PTSD which led to him grabbing Felicity and trying to protect her from the threat.

“You broke a few plates and startled the next table. All things considered, it wasn’t that bad.” She tried to reassure him.

“I just- I wanted one damn day where I wasn’t a walking collection of triggers.”

“If you hadn’t reacted, I would’ve.” Felicity said quietly. “I heard it, and it was like I was back in that limo again. We make quite the pair, don’t we?”   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Theories? Thoughts?


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Bucky is never really alone, Steve says something dumb and Felicity makes a discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a reminder: Bucky told Steve the trigger words are gone, that doesn't mean the memories or trauma are gone. How he dealt with it is revealed.

**Five Months Ago**

Felicity and Bucky were flipping through channels on the television when suddenly, he stiffened. She turned the TV off, put the remote down and turned to face him.

“Everything okay?” she asked. He didn’t move or respond to her. “Bucky?”

“That’s not my name.” He said. His voice sounded different. Hollow.

“Yes, it is. Your name is James Barnes, you go by Bucky.”

“That’s his name, the other me. It’s not mine.” He stated.

“If you’re not Bucky, who are you?”

“The Soldier.” He said plainly. “You’re Felicity, his soulmate. He doesn’t want me around you. The other one, he doesn’t seem so worried.”

“Other one?” She asked.

“There’s three of us. Me, Bucky and the other one. He’s the newest, showed up after you came to Wakanda. He doesn’t say much. Bucky doesn’t know there’s three of us. He thinks its just me and him.”

“Why am I talking to you and not Bucky or the other one?” She asked. There was a chance the Soldier would be gone by the time his therapist arrived.

“When Bucky gets scared, angry or upset, he hides and lets me out. The other one doesn’t try to take over when he hides. The news report, Bucky recognized one of the men on the television, he was our handler.” The Soldier explained.

Felicity’s eyes widened. She stood up from the couch and moved towards her phone. He didn’t try and stop her. It wasn’t until hours later, after the Soldier ‘left’, and Bucky ‘came back’ that they learned the truth.

Shuri and the Wakandan scientists removed the triggers, they removed his trained responses to hearing the words, but they couldn’t actually get rid of the Solider. His therapist called it Dissociative Identity Disorder. She explained that his mind created the personality of the Winter Soldier as a way of coping with the trauma. The Soldier, James Barnes and the so-called ‘Other One’ were three separate entities sharing one body.

Slowly, the Soldier began to appear less and less often. What no one besides Bucky knew was why. The third personality had yet to make an appearance.

* * *

 

**Cafeteria-Present**

Late the morning after their date, Felicity and Bucky found their way to the compound’s cafeteria. Bucky had had therapy that morning, while Felicity spent half the morning on a teleconference and the other half sparring.

“You sure you’re okay?” Bucky asked her when he noticed she was moving differently.

“Yeah, it’s just some muscle soreness. I’m fine.” She told him as they entered. A handful of people in the room froze upon seeing them. Felicity shot Nyssa a look and everyone went back to eating. She then whispered something to Bucky.

Steve, Clint, Natasha, Wanda and Sam were all already in the cafeteria eating lunch. Steve waved so Bucky would see him, and the pair headed over to the table. None of them seemed happy that Felicity was joining them but didn’t say anything.

“Hey, Buck.” Steve said as he sat down. He spared Felicity a glance before turning back to Bucky. “I was looking for you yesterday, and this morning.”

“Yeah, Mac told me. Sorry, I had things going on.”

“What kinda things?” Steve asked, not understanding why Bucky was being vague.

“Personal stuff.” He answered. “They give you an eval date yet?”

“He’s up tomorrow. Everyone else is today.” Felicity answered without looking up.

“How do you know that?”

“I know everything.”

“It’s true.” Sara said sitting down. “Terrifying to think about, but true.”

“How’re you doing, Buck?” Steve asked, feeling left out of the conversation.

“Fine, I guess.”

“Oh, we’ve seen you shirtless. We know you’re fine.” Sara said, noticing how tense Bucky was. “Man buns don’t really do it for me, but objectively…” the table fell into an awkward silence. Sara and Felicity kept talking, but no one else did for about twenty minutes.

The silence was broken when Tony Stark walked into the room, seemingly looking for someone. He made eye contact with Felicity, then saw the others with her and walked away.

“Running away like a coward. Again.” Clint scoffed.

“It is all he knows how to do.” Wanda spat out.

Sara looked between the members of Team Cap before saying to Felicity, “You really weren’t kidding.”

“Nope.” Felicity answered. It didn’t take a genius to figure out how much this group hated Tony Stark. The fact that they blamed him for everything that went wrong only made it more ridiculous. It took the blonde genius longer than she wanted to admit to realize what is was about Wanda Maximoff that set her in edge. In fact, she’d just figured it out.

“You weren’t kidding about what?” Sam asked, trying to stay neutral.

“Don’t worry about it.” Felicity said as she stood up. She turned to Bucky. “I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah.”

She bent down and kissed him. She turned back to the group. “Your evaluations start at 1:30. Don’t be late.” With that, the blonde turned and walked away. She had a bald telepath she needed to talk to.

“What the fuck was that?” Clint asked.

“Well, when two people like each other very much-“ Sara started.

“You two are together?” Steve asked.

Bucky nodded. “For a while, actually.” He hadn’t even begun trying to figure out how to explain the whole reincarnation situation to Steve. Or the multiple personalities. So, for now, he settled for admitting to dating Felicity while he figured out explaining the rest.

He looked at everyone to gauge their reactions. Natasha had a blank look on her face. Bucky could tell she was less than pleased by the news. Sam and Steve looked perplexed. Steve also looked a little disappointed. Wanda looked ambivalent. Clint looked angry.

“Why didn’t you-?”

“What was he supposed to do?” Sara asked. “Walk up to you and be like ‘hey, you know the blonde woman you hate because she doesn’t treat you like God’s gift to humanity? Yeah, she’s my girlfriend.’ That would’ve gone over well.”

“This isn’t your business.” Wanda pointed out.

“It’s not any of yours either.” Sara responded before walking away.

When she was out of earshot. Steve spoke again. “I think you’re making a mistake. You’re going through a lot. You don’t really know this girl. She doesn’t know you. How do you know she’s not just-?” Steve’s thought process was this: Felicity was friends with Tony, Tony hated Bucky. What if this was all some trick of Stark’s to get revenge on Bucky. Or worse, what if this was a ploy by the government to justify locking Bucky up.

Bucky stood up suddenly. He didn’t know how Steve’s sentence was going to end, but he knew he wouldn’t like it. “I have to go.”

“Buck, I-“

“I’ll see you later.”

As he stormed off, he tried to keep the other parts of him locked away. For the last three months, there’d been fewer and fewer appearances by the Soldier. In fact, for over a month, the Soldier had stayed quiet and Bucky stayed in control. In the last three days though, he’d gotten out twice. He’d been alone both times but it was still jarring. The Soldier wasn’t in control of Bucky’s body, but he was always there. In the background, trying to convince his ‘roommate’ to let him out. The third personality was still in there, both could feel it, but he rarely responded and never tried to wrestle control for himself.

_You should’ve at least stabbed him._

_No, we don’t hurt people anymore._

_I do, when I need to. He insulted our soulmate. Accused her of using us. He sides with the Hydra witch and accuses Felicity of being a threat to us._

_She’s MY soulmate, not our soulmate. Besides, she wouldn’t like it._

_She might not like it, but she would understand._ A third voice said. _In the least, you should have made an example out of one of them._

_He speaks. Five months of sitting there watching and this is what makes you talk?_ The Soldier remarked. _We don’t even know your name._

_Yes, you do. You know exactly who I am. You are both too afraid to admit it. Bucky is too afraid to even admit that I’m here. I speak now because I saw no need to intervene until this point._

* * *

 

**Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters**

Felicity left the cafeteria, walked out of the Compound and teleported to just outside the gate of Xavier’s School. She’d briefly reached out to the Professor mentally before she arrived, asking if he had time to meet with her today. He claimed another teacher could cover his afternoon classes and told her to stop by whenever.

As she walked through the gate, two younger students she hadn’t seen before noticed her.She waved, but the pair kept their distance and eventually continued their basketball game. She was about to knock on the door when it opened. Logan was standing there.

“Don’t know why you didn’t just teleport to inside the house.”

“I didn’t want to disrupt any classes or startle anyone. The walk gave me time to think anyway.” The blonde answered as she walked into the building. “Plus, this was kinda last minute.”

“He’s in his office.” Logan replied as he walked out of the building.

Felicity moved further into the building until she reached Charles’ office. The door opened right as she reached it. “Good afternoon, Ms. Smoak.”

“I’ve told you a billion times, it’s just Felicity, Professor.”

“As long as you continue calling me Professor, I’ll keep calling you Ms. Smoak.” He responded. “I assume you didn’t travel here to discuss names.”

“Fair enough, Charles. No, I didn’t.” the blonde took a deep breath. “Have you ever heard something you weren’t supposed to and not known what to do about it?”

“By heard, you refer to another’s thoughts?” he asked, already knowing the answer. She nodded regardless. “I was under the impression you don’t read other people’s thoughts unless you have to. You called it ‘a gross violation of their privacy and wholly unethical’ if I remember correctly.” The first time she’d met the professor, she caught him trying to read her thoughts and freaked out. A tangent that was legendary even for Felicity Smoak followed.

“I- I didn’t mean to. I lost control for a second and my shields lowered.” She sighed. “Now I don’t know what to do about what I heard.”

“What did you hear?”

“Wanda Maximoff think that she should’ve made Tony kill himself when she had the chance. She also regrets that her powers are blocked so she can’t continue to control the others.” She blurted out.  

“She’s used mental manipulation on all of them?” Xavier asked.

“I don’t know about all of them, but I suspect most of them.” She admitted. “I know the Council needs to be told, but I don’t know what to do beyond that.”

“That’s all you need to do. What happens after you report Maximoff isn’t for you to decide. As sad as it sounds, they already have protocols in place for this scenario.”

“I didn’t mean like that. I meant, should I tell anyone else? The Council will make the decision it makes, but should I also inform the senior agents so they’re aware of the situation? Should I not tell them?”

“That’s something you need to decide on your own.”

Felicity was about to respond when her eyes glossed over. “Something happened at the Compound. I need to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise, Bucky has two other personalities. Also, Wanda's in trouble.  
> Who's Bucky's 3rd personality? What happened? What will happen next?
> 
> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's third personality comes out, he and Felicity talk, and secrets are spilled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few not-polite things are said about Felicity. As in, they are sexist and objectifying. I'm warning you now.

**New Avengers Compound**

After Bucky left the cafeteria, and stopped the Soldier from coming out, he went to the gym to try and work off some of the aggression he was feeling. It was a good thing Tony had invented what he liked to call ‘Supersoldier proof’ punching bags. Bucky was certainly going to put that name to the test. He couldn’t quite put words to how he was feeling.

He was angry at Steve. He felt betrayed and insulted that his supposed best friend thought he’d be that easy to manipulate. He was offended on behalf of Felicity. He was angry at himself for getting so angry in this first place. On top of all of that, he was tired of Steve’s ‘I know better than you’ attitude. Bucky wasn’t the most well-adjusted person, but neither was Steve. Recent behavior showed Bucky was making better choices than his friend too.

Bucky was so caught up in working out his anger that he didn’t notice when others entered the room. At least, not until one of them spoke.

“Sergeant Barnes,” Agent Hand began to say. “I was informed you had already been evaluated.”

“What? Yeah, I was.” He then noticed a handful of people had arrived and were preparing for the Rogues' evaluations. “I’ll get out of your way.” He turned to go. Before he could leave though, another voice stopped him.

“This is an open training session. You don’t have to leave.” Dinah Drake said. “You just can’t interfere with the tests we’ll be doing.”

“I’m just gonna go.” He was almost to the door when Steve and the others arrived.

“You getting tested too?” Sam asked. Bucky shook his head. “For moral support then.”

Bucky was about to disagree again when Steve stepped in. “Of course that’s why he’s here.”

“Mr. Rogers, you’re evaluation is tomorrow.” Victoria Hand reminded him.

“I know. I just wanted to observe.” He didn’t admit it, but Steve wanted to make sure the tests weren’t biased. Given the pushback they’d received in the last few days, he wouldn’t put it past the people in charge to design a test so they’d purposefully fail. “C’mon Buck.”

Clenching his jaw, Bucky allowed Steve to lead him away. A group of people were already sitting in a corner of the room, waiting for the evaluations to start. Some were just curious observers, some were there in an official Accords capacity to determine the results, and a handful were there to give the evaluations. Each individuals’ testing would be different, since they had different skills, so it didn't make sense to have one person test all of them.

Sam was up first. His evaluation went well enough. He showed profficency in using the EXO wings and hand-to-hand combat. He also displayed his counseling skills and some knowledge in computers. Clint was next. He showed off his archery and fighting abilities. They meticulously went through his SHIELD file to discuss other skills he’d shown during his time with them.

Natasha’s test started late. Someone, Felicity, had argued that the best way to judge Natasha’s skills were to pit her against someone she didn’t have any experience sparring against. Nyssa, Sara and a few other League members practically jumped at the chance. They were all running a little late, so the assembled group had to wait.

The wait turned out to be a mistake. Just as Clint was finishing up, two task force agents came into the room. They asked a colleague of theirs what they’d missed. Steve had stepped away to talk to his team, and Bucky overheard the agents’ conversation.

“You didn’t miss Romanov.” Their friend replied.

“Sweet. I hear she fighting that blonde chick who faked her death. It’s gonna be hot.”

“Not as hot as this morning.” The other one replied.

“What did I miss?”

“Smoak was training with someone. I don’t have words to describe how hot that was to watch.”

_Hurt them._ The Soldier argued. Bucky and the other voice didn’t respond.

“I was late to my shift because I had to something 'come up' after seeing that.” The same agent joked. “You can’t tell me you wouldn’t hit that.”

_Kill them. No one gets to talk about Felicity like that._

“Isn’t she with Barnes though?” his friend argued.

“I said I would, I never said I could. She’s nerdy but she’s hot. And I’ve got a thing for that.” He went on.

Bucky’s hand clenched the chair he was sitting in so hard, he dented it. _If you won’t deal with them, I will._ The Soldier threatened.

_I want him to stop too, but I don’t want to kill him. It’ll just make everything worse._

_I will handle it._ the third voice said matter-of-factly. Bucky tried to stay ‘awake’ to no avail.

No one was watching Bucky as this happened. If they had been, they would’ve noticed a very subtle change in his posture, combined with his face becoming even more blank.

“Have you seen that ass? I would destroy it. I’d tear-“

The agent didn’t get to finish, because Bucky’s third personality had heard enough. Before anyone could blink, he had the agent by the throat up against the wall. Everyone gasped in shock, but no one quite knew what to do. Ice blue eyes bore into the agent’s head.

“I did not want to resort to this, but if I must, I must.” He said plainly. “If you ever say anything as vulgar or disgusting as what you just said again, I will tear your tongue out of your skull. Perhaps then you will learn to think before you speak.”

“Bucky, let him go.” Steve said, attempting to sound threatening.

He let go of the man before turning to Steve. “The good Sergeant is unavailable at the moment.” Bucky’s mouth said.

“You’re the Winter Soldier.” Steve said, in realization. Then, he got angry. “Give Bucky his body back! The triggers are gone, you’re supposed to be gone too!”

“I am neither Bucky nor the Soldier. This body belongs to me just as much as it belongs to him.” He turned away from Steve and his eyes began scanning the room. They settled on Nyssa. “Where is she?” he asked in Arabic.

The 16th Ra’s al Ghul was never a man to be trifled with. He was not the kind of man who took insults against his beloved lightly, either. Laila, Felicity, the name didn’t matter. The lifetime didn’t matter. She was his soulmate, his other half. No one spoke that way about her without consequences. Or baselessly accused her of things as Steve had done. Ra’s hadn’t wanted to stab Steve earlier, unlike the Soldier, but breaking an arm wouldn’t have upset him.

He stayed in the shadows of Bucky’s mind for months, ready to step in if he felt Bucky or the Soldier couldn’t or wouldn’t deal with a given problem correctly. He nudged and provided commentary, but never tried to get out as the Soldier often did. They seemed to do fine, just the two of them, until now. Ra’s was finally given enough motivation to justify stepping in.

Nyssa, to her credit, didn’t even blink at his sudden change. “Everyone out.” She told the crowd. Most of them left. Steve tried to stay. “Leave or I will remove you.”

“No, I-“ Before he could finish, Ra’s grabbed Steve by the arm and threw him from the room. The door shut and locked itself before he could react.

“I asked you a question.” Ra’s repeated. For months, he’d watched her from through Bucky’s eyes or the Soldier’s eyes. He hadn’t had a chance to meet her face-to-face though. It was more painful than he anticipated. Neither of the others would or could harm her, but it wasn’t the same.

“I don’t know.” Nyssa responded. “She left to talk to someone. It’s likely she’ll return soon.”

“When she arrives, tell her I wish to speak with her.”

“No need. She’s already here.” Mac announced.  “Former Captain Rogers is still outside the door yelling.”

“Too bad I don’t need to use doors then. You know, for him.” Felicity said from behind him. As he turned, she studied him. She knew who she was about to see based on his body language alone. The Demon Head had a very specific countenance and way of carrying himself. She hadn’t seen it in centuries, but she’d know it anywhere. “Hello, my love.” She said in Arabic. Nyssa figured she was dismissed and left.

“Laila. It’s been a long time.”

“Nearly three centuries by my count.” She responded. “I don’t know why you waited this long to ‘come out’ as it were.”

“We had a few things to figure out, the three of us. Bucky just now admitted I was here. I prioritized his health and stability over a desire to speak with you myself.” he answered. He reached a hand out and pushed a lock of hair out of her face. His hand settled behind her head. “I like the blonde, but your natural hair color remains my favorite.”

“You always were a simple man.” She responded. “Why now?”

His hand fell away from her. He began flexing his metal hand. “An agent started talking about you and he was being rather vulgar. I won’t repeat what he said.  The Soldier wanted to kill him, Bucky wanted to avoid the conflict, and I wanted to make an example out of him. I choked him slightly before threatening to remove his tongue. I’ll let them deal with most things themselves, but no one speaks that way about my wife without consequences.” She was about to argue the ‘wife’ part when he explained. “We were wed by the League centuries ago. Centuries before that I swore to love you in that life and every lifetime that followed. You swore the same. Our souls are bound together. That constitutes a marriage far more than a piece of paper or a ceremony does.”

“I can’t say I completely disagree.”

“Angry as I am about what happened, I am glad I had an excuse to awaken. I wished to speak with you. Bucky wants to give you space, the Soldier and I do not.” He couldn’t quite put it into words.

“What does that mean?”

“We should share living quarters.” Bucky was worried about rushing things or moving too fast. The Soldier and Ra’s weren’t worried about it. They were worried about keeping her safe. Ra’s also missed the feeling of his wife sleeping next to him.

“You want to move in together?”

“It’s not uncommon for two people in a committed relationship to move in together at around this point.”

“Do all of you agree?”

“Yes, although Bucky worries it might be too soon.” Ra’s answered. He paused for a moment. “I think he’s ready to come back now.”

His face went blank and when his eyes refocused Bucky was back. “I’m sorry I left.”

“Not your fault. And you never need to apologize to me.”

“I strangled someone.”

“No, you choked him, but he’s alive and unharmed. You didn’t even squeeze.” She argued, then felt ridiculous for how it sounded.

“Many others went to the Council to explain the circumstances.” Mac spoke up and said. “I predict they’ll require additional sessions with Dr. Brown and perhaps anger management. Agent Lusky is being sent to several workplace harassment seminars and workshops. Your response aside, his behavior was not work appropriate.”

“Still, between what he said and what Steve said-.” Bucky started to say.

“What did Steve say?” the blonde asked.

“He kinda- well, he-.” Bucky stuttered as Felicity stared him down. “He said you, me, us being together is a mistake. He also implied that you might be using me for your own ends.”

Felicity didn’t yell, she didn’t even say anything. Instead, she turned and walked through the door. Steve and his team were still waiting outside. They saw Felicity and Bucky leave and Steve started to speak.

“Bucky. What was- are you-?”

Steve didn’t get to ask his question, because Felicity punched him in the face and started yelling. “How fucking dare you?! You accuse me of using him. you can hate me all you want, I don’t care. But don’t you dare accuse me of manipulating him for my own ends. I’m not the one who dragged him into the whole Accords mess. I’m not the one who used him as an excuse to tell most of the world to go fuck itself. And most importantly, I’m not the one defending a fucking Hydra agent who was mind-controlling you, and your team, for over a year!”

Everyone stilled. Felicity just realized what she’d blurted out.

Everyone turned to Wanda who yelled, “She’s lying. She hates me so she made it up!”

“She may dislike you, but she isn’t lying.” Professor X said from the other end of the hallway. “Her claims have been verified by at least two others, not including myself."

"Wanda?" Steve asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All of you guessed correctly, it was Ra's. 
> 
> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?  
> What will happen next?  
> Also, there's one more person that got brought back to life as a result of Flashpoint. Any guesses?


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda's in a little bit of trouble. People have some things to think about and Felicity sets something straight.  
> I also stole a line from the Arrow pilot.

 “Wanda, is this true?” Steve asked Wanda. She got a deer in the headlights look as she was stared down by her ‘teammates’.

“She mind-controlled us?” Clint asked before trying to launch himself at her. Luckily, Bucky and someone he couldn’t see stepped in to stop him.

“We should have this conversation someone less….public.” Vision said.

Ten minutes later, the Rogue Avengers, Tony, Rhodey, Professor X, Dr. Strange, Wong and Felicity were sitting around a table. Wanda was noticeably absent. Vision and She-Hulk were keeping an eye on her.

“How did you know?” Sam asked out of nowhere. “How did you know she was mind-controlling us?”

“Combination of things. Some residents could feel her magic’s effect on you. Other can read minds and heard things that concerned them. Like this morning.” Felicity admitted. She gave Tony a look and he nodded. “In the cafeteria, after Tony walked in. Someone heard her say she should’ve made him kill himself when she had the chance. She’s also worried about her powers being blocked, since she can’t continue to control you.”

“Ms. Smoak came to me after this incident for advice. I asked two of our colleagues to verify my findings.” The professor said. 

“What did she do to us?” Clint asked, sullen.

“It varied from person to person. It also wasn’t a drastic as you may think.” Felicity answered. “The only person she didn’t try to manipulate was Lang, because she didn’t see the point. He already seemed to dislike Tony and she didn’t need him on her side.”

“The rest of us?”

 “I suppose I should start with Sam. She did some meddling, not a lot. Enough to make you dislike Stark more than you might’ve naturally. She also dulled your common sense slightly.” Felicity answered. “She left you mostly alone, believing you’d blindly follow Steve’s lead.”

“She went light on Ms. Romanov as well.” Xavier explained. “She gleaned enough about you to know she couldn’t act rashly or risk tipping you off. She influenced your mind so that you’d be more likely to trust her. Other than that, she didn’t change anything.”

“Rogers and Barton were the ones she most heavily interfered with.” Wong admitted. “She heightened both of your distrust of Tony following Ultron. She also exacerbated your guilt about her brother’s death, Mr. Barton. She used that, and your anger from Loki, to make you more likely to trust her and help her should she need it. You’re another matter entirely, Mr. Rogers.” Steve looked very confused.

“You have PTSD. No one’s offered to help you deal with any of the trauma you’ve undergone in such a short time. She capitalized on that. Used Bucky’s situation so you’d be more likely see her as a scared kid, not a fully-functioning adult and war criminal. Swayed your emotions so you’d be more likely to feel the need to protect her. Heightened your paranoia about the government. That came in handy during the Accords debate.”

“Then, what happened wasn’t our fault. It’s hers.”

“No, it isn’t all hers. She’s smarter than you think. She did just enough meddling so you’d see things her way, but stopped short of anything worse.  She didn’t make any of you do anything, she simply planted the suggestions. You gave into them. Your actions are your own. You’re all responsible for the situation being escalated to the point it reached.” Felicity argued. “She’s more culpable than we first believed, yes, but your choices weren’t completely caused by or based on her meddling.”

“Enough of this blame bullshit. Can you undo it?” Clint asked.

“Of course we can. That’s why we’re discussing this now. You needed to know before we removed it.” Strange piped up. “We don’t perform sorcery on another person’s mind without their informed consent.”

“Then hurry up!”

“This sounds cliché, but think happy thoughts.” Strange told them as he started doing a series of strange hand movements. Golden runes appeared out of nowhere as he worked. It was quiet for several moments before Strange stopped. “All traces of her are gone from your minds.”

“I don’t feel that different.”

“Like I said, she didn’t do as much as you thought.” Felicity said before turning and leaving the room. She and Bucky needed to talk.

“Tony, I-“ Steve began to say. He wanted to apologize, to explain. It was Wanda’s influence that made things turn out this way. His anger towards Tony, the distrust, it was because of her.

“Save it, Rogers.” Tony said. “You know, all she did was emphasize what was already there. I know this, because when she tried it on other people, it didn’t work. Sustained mind control only works if you believe the things you’re being told on some level.” He turned and left the room.

The human mind was more powerful than most people could understand. It had better defenses than anyone understood. It’s why it took over a decade of torture and electroshock for Bucky Barnes to turn into the Winter Soldier. That’s why Wanda’s attempt to control Rhodey didn’t work. His psyche knew what he was being told was a lie. It’s why Roy, Digg and Lt. Warlow survived her attack in Markovia. She tried to convince them they had nothing to live for and they should kill themselves, but they knew otherwise.

* * *

 

**Other Side of the Compound**

Wanda sat in silence in one of the smaller conference room. This was all their fault. Stark’s and that blonde woman’s. The team was just fine without Stark, until the Accords came along to ruin everything. Then, he had to get himself involved and got everyone thrown in jail. The world finally saw they were right, and brought them back, only for her powers to be dampened and her secrets to be exposed. Stark and Felicity would pay for what they’d done to Wanda.

The door to the room opened and three people in suits walked in. “Stand up, please.” Wanda didn’t move.  “Fine. Agent Scull.” One of the men walked over to Wanda and pulled her out of her seat. “Let’s go.”

“Where are you taking me?” No one answered her. “Where are you taking me? You can’t do this! I’m an Avenger.”

“One, no you aren’t. Two, yes we can. Three, you’re going to a secure facility for the time being.” Drake told her.

“I haven’t done anything.”

“We all know better than that, Ms. Maximoff.” 

* * *

 

**Felicity’s Lab**

Felicity was tinkering with one of her old prototypes as she tried to figure out what she was feeling. She was happy Wanda was being held accountable. She was pleased the others had control of their minds again. She was angry they thought Wanda’s actions absolved them of any responsibility. She was also still really pissed at Steve for what he had said to Bucky.

When she’d gotten to the lab, Bucky was already there. He was sitting by one of the work tables and looked like he was doing maintenance on his arm. She offered to help, but he waved her off. Neither seemed willing to talk, so they worked in silence.

“Did she do anything to me?” Bucky eventually asked. “Maximoff, I mean. Did she-?”

“No.” She said, cutting him off. “Remember how you had that really long meeting with Dr. Brown, Professor Xavier and those two other doctors?” He nodded. “Part of what they evaluated during that meeting was if she’d done anything to you. She didn’t.”

“What do you think will happen to her?”

“I don’t know. Kinda hoping I never have to deal with her again. She’s delusional.”

“Yeah, me too. I mean, she’s Hydra. Don’t know why they even let her join.”

“They weren’t thinking and people saw what they wanted to see.” By that, Felicity meant Steve saw what he wanted to see. “I don’t know what they were thinking, so I won’t try to defend them.”

“Is it bad I don’t want to see them for a few days?” Bucky asked. He was still getting used to emotions, and now most of his feelings conflicted with one another.

“I can’t tell you what to feel. You feel however you feel. It’s been an emotionally draining few days for everyone. If you don’t want to see any of them, you don’t have to. If you only want to see some of them, you can do that too. If they understand, great. If not, that’s their problem, not yours.”

“I know that. it’s just- Steve- he’s expecting me to go back to being the man he knew 70 years ago. And, every time I try to tell him I can’t be him again, he gets all mopey. Or starts pitying me. Or goes on and on about how he ‘knows how I feel’ or how much he ‘understands what I’ve been through’, but he doesn’t. Reading that file Natalia gave him doesn’t mean he knows how it feels. No one does.” He said.

“That’s on everyone except you. People have told him you aren’t the same, but no one’s really made him realize it.”

Bucky was going to respond when Agent Drake came into her lab. “Sorry to interrupt, but we might have a situation.”

“Maximoff is contained, right?”

“Yes, its not about that. it’s about Mr. Barton. He’s been threatening and harassing several staff members to tell him where his ex-wife is. When that didn’t work, he came to me. I told him ‘no’ but I doubt he’s going to let this go.”

“You think he’s gonna leave and find her.”

“Or attack someone the next time he hears ‘no’. Or try and break in here for answers. He switches between blaming Tony and accusing us of ‘getting rid’ of them.” Dinah told her. “He has anger issues and according to Scott, he’s gotten even more volatile in the last few months. With the news about Maximoff, I’m concerned that he’ll get worse.”

Felicity sighed. “I’ll visit Laura. I’m not promising anything and we’re gonna do whatever she decides.” The one thing Laura cared about more than anything else was keeping her children safe. Felicity wasn’t going to talk her into doing anything she wasn’t comfortable with or anything that could jeopardize their safety.

“Why does it have to be you?” Bucky asked.

“I’m one of the few people who knows where they are. The others aren’t great at this kind of thing. When I helped them relocate, I promised Laura I’d keep the circle as small as possible.” she answered. “I need to do one thing before I call her to ask if I can visit.”

* * *

 

**Rogue’s Wing**

The Rogue Avengers were quiet when Felicity arrived in their wing. Clint was nowhere to be found. Wilson and Rogers were staring blankly at the TV. Natasha was in the common room, doing her nails. She seemed to be calm, but Felicity could read the tension in her shoulders. The three of them looked up when they heard the door open.

“What now?” Sam asked. They all seemed ready for Felicity to drop another bomb on them. “I know you hate us, but this is just too much.”

“I don’t hate you. I dislike and disagree with some of the choices you’ve made. I think some of what you’ve done is very stupid. The only people I hate are Maximoff and Slade. And I’m here for ta few reasons. I wanted to apologize for telling you the way I did. You didn’t deserve to have something like that announced to the whole world. I’m not sorry for punching though, Mr. Rogers.”

The trio nodded but didn’t say anything. “The second thing?”

“I need to talk to him about something.” she pointed to Steve.

“You can tell all of us.” Natasha pointed out.

“Yes, I guess I can.” Felicity said, but didn’t elaborate. It was silent for a solid minute before she spoke again. “It’s about Bucky.”

That was enough to get Steve to break away from the group and follow Felicity to another room. As soon as they entered, Steve began asking questions.

“Is this about earlier? Is he okay? Do you know why he’s acting so weird?”

“He isn’t acting weird, actually.”

“Yes, he is. I know him better than anyone. Bucky, he never would’ve-“

“No, you knew him. No one’s had the guts to say this to you until now, so I guess I have to. What he went through, those 70 years as a POW, they changed him. He remembers you, yes. He remembers his old life, yes, but he’s not that person anymore. The Bucky you knew died when he fell from that train.”

“You don’t know that. Hydra’s conditioning is gone, he’s getting better.”

“Yes, he is. But what you don’t seem to understand is that ‘getting better’ isn’t the same thing as ‘being that person again’. He’s overcoming some of his trauma. He’s learning how to move past what’s been done to him. He’s figuring out who he is now. You showing up wanting to relive the Good Old Days isn’t helping.” Felicity told him. “Whether you like it or not, the Bucky you lost isn’t the one you found in Romania. The sooner you realize that, the easier it’ll be for both of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> What do you think will happen to Wanda? Who else do you think Flashpoint brought back? What will happen with Laura and CLint?
> 
> I couldn't make everything Wanda's fault. Instead, she was more of a contribuitng factor.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more snapshots from during the time jump. (Or Bucky meets people who are important to Felicity and they have some things to say.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna post a very serious, plot-related chapter today. Then I had a crappy week, so this chapter happened.
> 
> I regret nothing, though.

**November 2016**

The day after Bucky arrived at the Compound, he walked into the kitchen to find Digg and Roy standing there. Both men went quiet when he entered. Feeling self-concious, Bucky went to grab something to eat, so he could get out of there as quickly as possible.

“Hey Barnes.” Roy said right before Bucky stepped out of the room. “Can we talk to you about something?”

Bucky didn’t respond, but he didn’t leave either. After a few seconds of internal debate, he turned to face them.

“It’s about Felicity.” Digg told him. Bucky still didn’t say anything. “I know you’re her soulmate, but she’s like a sister to us, so if you hurt her-“

“You’ll kill me. Got it.” He didn’t plan on hurting Felicity. Regardless, it was oddly comforting that she had people willing to threaten him like this.

Roy snorted. “No, she’ll kill you. We’ll just help her hide the body.”

“This isn’t the last time I’m gonna hear this, am I?” Bucky asked wryly.

“Not by a long shot.”

* * *

**January 2017**

In mid-January, the Flash and the Green Arrow teamed up to take down a metahuman who’d come to Star City after making a huge mess in Central City. After the culprit was in ARGUS custody and the tension died down, Felicity told Oliver and Barry she wanted them to meet someone.

A tall, brunette man walked into the Lair. The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but Barry had already taken off. The Flash ran at Bucky and stopped about a foot away from him. His mask was still on.

“If you hurt Felicity-“

“You’ll kill me. I know.”

“No. I’ll travel back into the past and strand you in the Jurassic Era.” Barry said. “Because I can do that.” Bucky just stared. The speedster turned to Felicity. “Why are all your boyfriends so terrifying?”

“It’s a gift. And Barry? Be nice.”

“What- you- you just told him my name.”

“Already knew it.” Bucky said. “You didn’t do anything to disguise your voice the last time you were at the Compound. I know who he is too.” Bucky pointed at Oliver. “But that’s because they were worried about him getting in their way. They never managed to learn your name, but I did, after.”

Hydra took some interest in the Arrow when he first appeared. They were concerned he’d be ‘a problem’ after Insight launched. During his time in Romania, Bucky remembered hearing Hydra operatives debating what to do about the Arrow. It didn’t take long for Bucky to work out his identity after Wakanda. Barry looked confused. Felicity looked horror-struck. Oliver barely reacted. His eyes widened slightly before going back to normal.

Oliver gave Bucky the token ‘I’ll shoot you with an arrow if you hurt her’ speech. Felicity used her Loud Voice when he did that, saying she didn’t need anyone to protect her and that threatening her soulmate wasn’t nice. That didn’t stop Thea, or Captain Lance or Sara or Ray from doing the same thing when they met Bucky for the first time. Nyssa was the only person that didn’t threaten him. Partly because he was the Demon Head and partly because she acknowledged that Felicity could and would handle Bucky herself if she needed to.

* * *

**February 2017-New Avengers Compound**

Felicity was in her lab working on a particularly difficult piece of code. No matter what she tried, it just wouldn’t compile the way she wanted it to. She let out a groan of frustration when Bucky came into the room.

“That’s not a good sound.”

“This, dumb, idiotic, fracking program won’t work properly.” She said through clenched teeth.

He looked around the room. Her lab was never pristine, but it was messier now than he’d ever seen. “How long have you been working on this?”

“I started after dinner.” She answered distractedly. “So, not that long.”

“Felicity, it’s 2pm. You’ve been doing this for 19 hours.” He pointed out. “You need a break.” He pulled the chair away from the desk.

“No, I-“

“Need to eat and get some sleep. It’ll still be here tomorrow.” He told her as he led her from the room.

 

The next morning, Felicity begrudgingly admitted that she felt a lot better now. Bucky almost managed to keep the satisfied smirk off of his face. Almost. The residents were sitting around eating breakfast when all of a sudden a shriek was heard. They turned to see a blonde woman jumping up and down. Behind her, a middle-aged man stood looking amused.

“Gah!” she yelled.

Felicity jumped up and approached the pair. “Ah! What are you doing here?!”

The jumping blonde stopped. “Honey, didn’t you get my text?”

“To send a text, you have to actually press ‘send’ on the text. We talked about this, Mom.” Felicity told Donna. She shot Quentin a ‘you couldn’t warn me, really?’ look.

“Mom?” several people behind her exclaimed.

The blonde turned around and said, “Don’t you all have somewhere to be?” Most of the group left. Tony, Rhodey, Jennifer, Bucky, Scott and Hope all stayed. “Mom, I’m sure you know most of them. Everyone, this is my mom.” As Donna went to say hi to everyone, Felicity turned to Quentin. “How’d you get in here? What’s this visit about?”

“Thea let slip about you and Barnes. She wanted to meet him.” he answered. “And we told the guard at the gate the truth. She came to visit her daughter.”

“You didn’t give me a heads-up because?”

“If I had, you’d have taken another impromptu vacation to Timbuktu.” He told her. “And don’t say you wouldn’t, ‘cause we both know that’d be a lie.”

Felicity didn’t respond and turned her attention back to the group right as she heard Donna say to Bucky. “So, since my daughter won’t tell me anything about you, spill.”

“I’m sorry, I-“

“Mom, can you not do this right now?”

“No, it has to be right now.” Donna insisted. Bucky opened his mouth to speak, but she continued before he could. “Before you say anything, I know you’ve heard it from several other people, but if you hurt my daughter, I’ll end you. Got it?”

Bucky had been threatened plenty of times in his life. He could count on one hand the number of times a threat managed to intimidate him. Donna Smoak’s words were one of those times. “Yes ma’am.” He told her.

“Good.” Donna then cheered up. “Now, Felicity, why didn’t you tell me about you very attractive boyfriend?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I thought this would happen.”

“I’m not that bad.”

“Yeah, you are.” Felicity told her.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity visits the Barton family, a few of the Rogues make a mistake and Kamar Taj gets a visitor.

**Dover, DE**

The morning after Wanda’s actions came to light, Felicity teleported to a small, suburban street in Delaware. Since last September, the Barton family, now the Dylan family, had been living in the house at the end of the row.

When Ross got a little too close to finding the Barton family, several of Clint’s former friends went to work. For about a month, they lived out of suitcases, going from one safehouse to another, set up by either Tony, Hill or Hand. They were able to settle down after Ross went to prison and Felicity had enough time to create new identities for them and plant false leads for their old ones.

It was a little after ten in the morning when Felicity knocked on the door. Laura opened it a few seconds later, scanning the area. Nathaniel was hanging off of her hip.

“I came alone like I promised.” She told Laura. “Only Drake and Hand know I came to see you. Everyone else thinks I’m at a budget meeting or still in my lab.”

“Thanks. Come in.” Laura said, feeling a little self-concious. “I trust you, it’s just-“

“It’s your kids and Ross got too close. Understandable.” Felicity finished for her. “I’m sorry for how impromptu this visit is, too.”

“Something happened, didn’t it?” Laura asked as she sat down at the table. “With Clint. That’s why you’re here.”

“Yes and no. His anger and instability has gotten worse since he escaped the Raft. More than one person has noticed and said something, and he’s been at the Compound for only three days. He’s spent that time trying to find you. When Friday and Mac shut down all his search attempts, he started harassing the staff to tell him where you are. That alone warranted a phone call to you at least.”

“But there’s something else.” Laura guessed. “Please, just tell me.”

“Yeah. Wanda Maximoff has been influencing the minds of several of the Rogue Avengers since Ultron. Including Clint’s mind. They found out yesterday. Maximoff has been detained and her control of them was undone. But the damage has already been done and-”

“And it might push him over the edge, given what happened with Loki. What are you asking me to do?”

“I’m not asking you to do anything. You had your reasons for the divorce and gaining sole custody of the kids. From the tiny bit I’ve been told, they were very good reasons. And had very little to do with the Accords. You’re the one deciding if and when he sees Cooper, Lila and Nathan. You need to know what’s going on.”

Clint had been different after New York. Even Cooper and Lila could tell. Yet, every time Laura suggested Clint might need to see a therapist, he just waved her off. After Sokovia, he got worse. Guilt over Pietro’s death started to eat at him and, combined with his PTSD from Loki, he became difficult for Laura or the kids to be around sometimes. He wouldn’t admit he had a problem and it was only a matter of time before things reached a boiling point.

“Thank you.” Laura said honestly. “They’ve been asking about him, Cooper and Lila. His return was on the news the other day. They asked if they have to see him, I told them only if they wanted to. I know there’s a few things Cooper wants to say to him.”

* * *

 

**New York**

That morning, Natasha and Steve were both woken up by knocks on their doors. An agent informed each of them that, given the events of the previous day, their evaluations were postponed until early next week. They found themselves in the kitchen soon after, where Clint was waiting for them.

“Finally!” he said, sounding irritated. “Come on, we gotta go.”

“Go where?”

“The east wing. I need to get some answers about my family.” Clint said. “Stark’s holed up in his lab over there. He knows where Laura and the kids are.”

Natasha didn’t speak for several moments. Clint was her partner, he’d saved her life more than once. She owed him a lot. At the same time, this Clint wasn’t the same Clint as the one in New York, or Budapest. He wasn’t as rational or levelheaded as he once was. And they were in enough trouble as is.

“I can’t.” She told him. “I’ve got a meeting with the Council in ten minutes. If I don’t want my ledger getting reopened, I need to be there.” The meeting was real, but it wasn’t taking place until that afternoon. It also wasn’t as serious as it sounded. They wanted her account of what happened between Lagos and Steve’s escape in Leipzig. Clint didn’t need to know that though.  

“C’mon, Nat. This is my family!”

“If they reopen my ledger, it could get me killed.” She argued as she turned to leave the room. “I’ll do what I can after I get back.”

“I’m not waiting.” Clint said as soon as she left. “You with me or what, Cap?”

“I’m not sure this is a good idea. I mean, didn’t they tell you to call Laura’s lawyer instead?” Steve said.

“She’s my wife. I don’t wanna waste time going through some middleman. If she even really did divorce me. They said she did, but they never showed me any proof. For all we know, she’s trying to contact me and they’re stopping her!”

“You think Tony’d do that?”

“He threw us all in the Raft! He probably made her divorce me! Or worse, he led Ross right to her to save his skin.” Clint yelled. “My wife, my babies, I need to know that they’re okay. Breaking into that wing and making Stark talk is the only way to know.”

“Okay.” Steve acquiesced. “But we’re just getting a phone number, we’re not gonna engage with Tony or rehash any of last year. Got it?” Clint nodded.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the corridor where the east wing and west wing met. They tried to swipe their badges, but the door didn’t open.

“You do not have access to this area.” Friday said. “What is your purpose?”

“We need to talk to Tony.” Steve answered.

“The east wing is off-limits to you. I’ll send the message along.”

“Not good enough, HAL.” Clint said. “Open the door before I break it down.”

“That would be amusing to watch.” Mac said. “Given how fruitless that attempt would be.”

“What was that?” Clint asked, looking around.

“The Compound has two programs running it. She’s the other one.” Steve answered. “Can you please just let us in?”

“No. What part of ‘off limits’ is too hard for you to handle?” Mac asked. “Just because you used to be important, doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want and the rules don’t apply to you.”

“Come on, Clint.” Steve urged. “Maybe there’s another way.”

Clint became even angrier and started banging on the door. “Open this fucking door before I blow it off!” When that didn’t work, he tried to remove the access panel to manually override the door.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” FRIDAY said.

“Fuck off!”

“Mr. Barton. If you don’t desist from trying to break down the door and trying to bypass security, I’ll be forced to take defensive action.” Mac told him.

“You’re a bunch of ones and zeroes, what’re you gonna do?” He taunted.

“Step away from the door and the access panel. You have three seconds to comply.” Mac said. Clint, of course, didn’t listen. Exactly three seconds later, the door behind them closed. Steve and Clint were effectively trapped between two locked doors.

“What is this?” Steve asked.

“Security measures.” Mac answered. “I did warn you.” Yellow smoke began coming out of a vent.

Clint kept banging on the door for a few more seconds before he passed out. His last thought was ‘I’m gonna make Stark pay for this’. Steve wasn’t completely knocked-out, but instead was simply sedated. He could see and hear what was going on, but couldn’t react or respond. Mac knew if she’d used a chemical capable of knocking out a supersoldier, she might kill Clint, so she settled for leaving Steve sedated, but awake.

After Clint and Steve were both dealt with, the gas evaporated and six guards wearing gas masks came into the room. “What happened?” one of the them asked.

“They tried to enter this wing. When they were denied, Barton tried to manually override the security. In accordance with my protocols, I dispensed a knock-out gas before he could do anything.” Mac answered.

“And Rogers?”

“When I denied access, he tried to make Barton leave. Barton refused, and he watched as Barton went crazy and began trying to break the door down.”

Several of the guards snorted. “Yeah, that’s smart. Try and break down the Hulk-proof walls.”

“You recorded everything, right?” the head guard asked.

“I wasn’t coded yesterday.” was Mac’s reply.

Steve was taken back to the west wing. Since he hadn’t tried to break in or helped Clint in his attempt, they couldn’t punish him for just being there. Clint went down to medical, and was escorted back to his room afterwards.

That afternoon, everyone was called into the common room by FRIDAY. When they entered and saw Tony, Felicity, Pepper, Victoria Hand and Dinah Drake standing there, their expressions all changed. Natasha shot Clint and Steve an unhappy look. Sam looked confused. Steve looked sheepish and Clint began turning purple.

“Is this about-?”

“You know what this is about.” Hand said, cutting them off. “What part of ‘stay out of the east wing’ is beyond your comprehension?”

“I didn’t have anything to do with that.” Sam said, putting his hands up in surrender. “FRIDAY’ll back me up.”

“He’s not lying.” FRIDAY announced. “Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barton were involved, and Mr. Barton attempted to enlist Ms. Romanov’s help. Mr. Wilson was outside for a run when this occurred.”

“You still need to hear this.” Drake said. “You were told several times that the east wing was off-limits. Trying to-“

“He gonna tell me what I want to know or not?” Clint interrupted staring at Tony. “First, he gets me arrested. Then he talks my wife into leaving me. Now, his little AI knocked me out. Am I gonna get answers or what?”

“The gas was dispersed because you tripped the security system while trying to break into a secure area.” Felicity cut in. “Did you really think there wouldn’t be any defenses? BTW, the AI that knocked you out? Tony didn’t write it.”

“It shouldn’t be off-limits to us in the first place! We’re Avengers. Just because Tony doesn’t wanna face up to what he did-“

“No, okay. Just no. That wing is off-limits because the CEOs of three different companies have labs, offices and proprietary tech down there. Thousands of jobs depend on that area being secure. It’s off-limits because a number of people don’t feel uncomfortable with any of you around them right now. It’s off-limits because the people who own this building say so.” Dinah interrupted.

“And Tony’s not the one trying to blame his actions on someone else.” Pepper said. “FRIDAY’s been observing you, as you’ve been told. Funny how everything wrong in your life is his fault. It’s not because you broke the law or abandoned your family or anything. No, it’s all him. oh, and fair bit of warning, because I suspect you’ll try again, next time, the security system won’t be so nice.”

“You call knock-out gas nice?”

“Let’s see, it was an appropriate dose with minimal side effects. She could’ve done something a lot worse. Like shot you.” Felicity told them. “Why were you trying to break in there anyway?”

“Because no one will talk to me. Stark knows where my family is but everyone’s too much of an ass-kisser to tell me!” Clint said. “Where are they?!”

“Don’t know.” Tony answered.

“C’mon Tony. He’s just worried about his family. He wants to know that they’re okay.” Steve reasoned.

“That’s nice. I don’t know where they are.” Tony said. “I know they’re safe though.”

“How can you know that if you don’t know where they are?” Natasha asked.

“Because Laura checks in fairly frequently. Someone stops by every so often to check on them. We didn’t just throw her to the wolves. I don’t know where they are because I didn’t help hide them.” Tony explained.

“Then who does?”

“Only about three people.” Felicity answered. “And none of them will tell you because they know she doesn’t want to see you. She’s made that very clear.”

* * *

 

**Kamar Taj**

Esrin walked past the entrance to Kamar Taj three times before she entered. The first time was to make sure she wasn’t followed. The second was to make sure she had the right place, it had been decades since Esrin’s last visit. The third time was to see what the occupants would do. On her fourth time around, the door opened and a sorcerer stood in the doorway.

“Are you going to do this all day?” he asked.

“Absolutely not. But I prefer being invited in to showing up unannounced.” Esrin answered as she walked inside. “I see the most recent Sorcerer Supreme has a knack for interior design.”

“His predecessor.” He replied. “May I ask what bring you to Kamar Taj?”

“I must speak with the Sorcerer Supreme, the librarian and the masters of all three sanctums. And Master Hamir. It’s an urgent matter.” She answered.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Esrin Fortuna, I’m an immortal shaman. And I need to speak with them now.” She said.

The man scuttled off. Roughly five minutes later, Strange, Wong, Master Hamir and two other sorcerers were standing in the Sanctum. Hamir greeted Esrin like an old friend, while the others looked confused.

“What brings you to Nepal, if I may ask?” Master Hamir asked.

“I have a theory, one I wished to run by you. It concerns one of the souls the Book of Ursitoare is bound to.” She explained. “She has abilities that are difficult to explain, even for someone as experienced as me. She’s not a witch. She’s not a sorcerer or a shaman.”

“This is about what Constantine said he sensed, isn’t it?” Strange asked out of nowhere. The others gave him varying looks of confusion. “He said he could sense mystical energy pouring out of her. A great deal by the sound of it.”

“Energy, yes. I felt it when our paths crossed last year. Mystical, I’m not certain. Have any of you sensed something similar?” she asked.

Wong and Strange both shook their heads. “Constantine suggested it wasn’t noticeable to ‘our type’ of magic.”

The shaman nodded before reaching into her bag. She pulled a bundle of cloth out of it, which the sorcerers eyed warily. “Can you sense anything from this?” she unwrapped the bundle, which contained bones. Human bones by the looks of them.

“It- they- not possible.” Master Hamir and another sorcerer both exclaimed.

“You felt something.” Esrin concluded.

“Yes, I’ve felt that power before. Only once before, when I was tasked to guard the Eye. It is not of this world.” Hamir answered. “What does this mean?”

“These are the bones from her fourth life, which ended in the early 18th century. It means I was right. Her powers aren’t rooted in dark energy or mystical energy or any energy created on Earth. They’re cosmic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Comments? Theories?


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the conversation Felicity, Tony, Pepper and Dinah had with Clint and Steve. Plus some Felicity and Bucky goodness and a few surprise guests

**New Avengers Compound-West Wing**

“What the hell were you two thinking?” Natasha asked after Felicity, Tony, Pepper, Victoria and Dinah left.

“I needed to find my family!”

“And I said I’d help you when I got back. Why couldn’t you wait?” the redhead asked. “We’re trying to rebuild bridges here, pissing everyone off doesn’t help.”

“So Stark and the other nerds are pissed. So what? We’re already pardoned, what can they do?”

“Kick us out.” Sam responded. “What? I read the packets they gave us that first day after the meeting. It says they can and will relocate anyone who shows a disregard for the Compound’s rules.”

“We’re Avengers. They can’t kick us out.” Clint argued.

“We haven’t been officially reinstated, you know that right? It’s still in the works and part of that being finalized is that we need to show an attempt to try and get along. Stark, Rhodes, Vision, Smoak, they might not want us around, but they’ve at least been trying. You’re the one making it worse.”

“Not to mention getting in your own way.” Joanna said.

“What do you-?”

“The Council, the staff here, your ex-wife’s attorneys, none of them are going to OK a visit if you keep acting like this. They aren’t going to bring your kids here if you could pose a danger to them. Nothing about your behavior the last few days alleviates that concern.” Clint opened his mouth to argue. “This isn’t a debate.”

"Maybe Stark really doesn't know where they are." Sam said to Clint. The more the archer obsessed, the more unraveled he seemed to become. "I don't think they would lie about that."

"They would. Stark's a dick who wants attention, Pepper's a lackey. Drake and Hand are a couple of government grunts and Smoak's just a bitch."

"When she needs to be, yes. In general, Felicity really isn't. She's actually pretty nice." Scott said, having just walked into the room. "After I turned myself in, she helped me a lot. Spoke on my behalf at my hearing, helped work out a deal so I wasn't stuck in prison forever for violating my parole. Made sure I got to see Cassie."

"If she's so nice, why isn't she helping us?" Clint shot back.

"Because you haven't given her a reason to. You haven't given anyone a reason to. I'm the only one here who's admitted I screwed up and was wrong. Or apologized. You waltzed back in like a bunch of arrogant jerks and now you're pouting about the bridges you burned. Why should they waste energy trying to help you?"

* * *

 

**New Avengers Compound-East Wing**

Felicity walked back to the east wing and saw Bucky sitting in the common room. He was reading a thick book and didn’t hear her walk over to him. Tilting her head slightly, she read the cover.

“ _The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring._ What part are you at? What do you think?” she asked him.

“The hobbits are going to Bree to meet Gandalf. It’s good so far.” He answered. “Have you read this?”

“Yeah, a few dozen times. Then I saw the movies about a dozen times.”

“They made this into a movie?”

“Yup, I’ve got the DVDs upstairs. But you gotta read the books first. it’s a right of passage.” She told him. “You already read _The Hobbit_ right?”

“I read that back before the war. It was published in 1937.”

“Just because it was out doesn’t mean you read it. I didn’t wanna assume. We were alive when Shakespeare was writing Macbeth, doesn’t mean I read it. We were alive when Columbus ‘discovered’ America, doesn’t mean we met him.”

Bucky was silent for a moment before saying, “Ok, you have a point. Still, there’s a difference between reading a popular book and meeting people who became historical figures.” He paused. “What were those alarms about earlier?”

“Your dumb best friend and Barton tried to break into this wing. They didn’t even make it past the door, but the security system still registered a potential threat and set off the alarms.”

“Why’d they try to break in?” With the exception of a few rooms, there wasn’t any difference between the two wings. The west wing had everything the east wing had minus the security hub, armory and Felicity and Tony’s labs. “Whatever they needed from here, they could get from their wing or the north wing. It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t know their logic, so I can’t explain it. Barton wanted to know where his family was. He thought he could intimidate Tony into telling him. He talked Steve into helping him. Not that he did much after Mac told them off.”

“It was the second time Mr. Rogers thought a polite tone and the word ‘please’ would be enough to bypass security.” Mac said.

“Second time?” Felicity asked.

“Two days ago, he requested entrance to see Sergeant Barnes and was turned away. He accepted my refusal and left. Given his behavior, it didn’t seem important to report. I did pass the message along to Sergeant Barnes, however.”

“Yeah, I didn’t see it until after he pissed me off yesterday though.” Bucky said. “Seeing him after that didn’t seem like a good idea.”

“Speaking of yesterday, your roommate and I had quite a conversation.” Felicity said, trying to change the subject. She didn’t want to talk about any of the Rogues right now.

“Yeah, I know. he’s been a little angsty since then.”

_I have not._ Ra’s argued. _How dare you impugn on my honor in such a way._

“The Demon Head is never angsty, he’s apprehensive or concerned. He could never feel something as common as angst.” Felicity teased. “The mere suggestion is simply ludicrous.”

_Mocking me is unbecoming._

_She’s trying to lighten the mood._ The Soldier butted in.

“He isn’t trying to come out, but he keeps reminding me about what happened.” Bucky sighed.

“We should, you know, move in together.” Felicity said. “I want to. I mean, if you want to.”

“No time like the present then.” Bucky stood up and held his hand out for her to take. She put her hand in his and allowed him to lead her towards his room.

Moving Bucky into Felicity’s room didn’t take long. He didn’t have a lot of stuff to begin with, mostly clothes, and between his enhanced strength and her telekinesis, packing went by fast. Afterwards, the two of them decided to go out to dinner.

Bucky and Felicity wound up at a small bistro about half an hour away from the compound. Felicity had mentioned that she’d always wanted to try the restaurant but hadn’t gotten a chance so far. With no destination in mind, they agreed to stop there.

They ordered and were about halfway through dinner when two people approached the table. Looking away from Felicity, Bucky saw that it was two girls who looked to be high school age. They immediately started gushing about how excited they were to meet Felicity.

“You’re one of our heroes.” One of them said.

“Could we get a picture really quickly? Our friends will never believe us.” The other one asked. “We don’t want to use up too much of your time.”

“Sure.” Felicity said, still a little in shock. No one ever told her she was one of their heroes before. Bucky took the picture on one of the girls’ phones and they left. “That was weird wasn’t it?”

“A little, yeah. How does it feel, to be someone’s hero?” Bucky asked.

“Weird. I mean, everyone keeps telling me I’m a hero, but I’ve never been told by someone that I’m their hero. Except Sara Diggle, but that had more to do with my ability to answer any question she asks me.” She said. “Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. And they’re all right, by the way. You’re pretty heroic.” Bucky said.

When they got to the common room of the east wing, Felicity and Bucky found themselves face-to-face with Esrin and Faiza. They both looked very concerned. Bucky began to panic, having never met either of these people before.

“Finally.” Faiza remarked. “Thought we were gonna have to send out a search party for you.”

“Bucky, meet Faiza Najm and Esrin Fortuna.” Felicity said to him. “What are you doing here? How’d you even get in here?”

“Dr. Strange was kind enough to portal us in. We need to talk about your abilities. They aren’t what we originally thought.”

“Okay, then what are they?”

“They aren’t of Earth, they’re cosmic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity, Faiza, Bucky and Esrin have an interesting, and very surreal, conversation. And one of Felicity's abilities has sneaked past everyone, including her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please see End Notes where I clarify a few things.

**The Compound**

“We need to talk about your abilities. They aren’t what we originally thought.”

“Okay, then what are they?”

“They aren’t of Earth, they’re cosmic.” Esrin told Felicity.

“What do you mean, they’re cosmic? Cosmic as in the cosmos, from space. Are you saying I’m an alien?”

“We don’t know enough to say.” Faiza answered. “You are either a cosmic entity yourself, in which case, yes that would make you an alien. The other explanation is that you yourself aren’t an alien, nor were any of your previous incarnations. But you encountered some cosmic force or object that gave you these abilities. And, based on what we already know, these powers have been with you for centuries.”

“So some alien force, for an unknown reason, keeps seeking me out. Great.” Felicity said. “Or I’m just some super powerful alien.”

“I don’t think it keeps seeking you out. I think it found you once and has stayed with you ever since.” Esrin explained. “I doubt you remember, but we’ve met before. You only about five years old. It was either the 10th or 11th century. I could sense your power then, it pales in comparison to what I sense now.”

“Do you know what exactly this cosmic force is?” Bucky asked.

“Not yet.” She answered. “I felt you should be aware of this new development. Should anymore strange abilities manifest, please let me know. There are too many unknowns at this moment to narrow down the possibilities.”

“And what if your first theory is true and I’m a cosmic being?” Felicity asked. “What does that mean?”

“It would answer a number of lingering questions from your first lifetime, while also posing new ones. It would mean you’re even more powerful than anyone originally thought. It would also mean there’s very little we could do.”

A lot of questions from Shoshannah and Jacob’s lifetime still remained. It had been over two thousand years, yet no one knew how exactly Felicity and Bucky’s reincarnations worked. No one knew what caused it to happen in the first place, unlike most other people who were reincarnated. While Gideon and the Legends managed to compile enough information about Jacob to know what happened before he was enslaved, the same wasn’t true for Shoshannah. No one except Felicity knew anything about her life before being taken to Rome. All Bucky or Jacob ever knew was that Shoshannah was from ‘the east’ but she never elaborated on where.

Being a cosmic entity would make Felicity’s life both easier and infinitely more complicated. It explained a lot. Cosmic entities could reincarnate themselves or others if they wanted to. It would explain why no one knew anything about Shoshannah’s life or people.  Cosmic beings were difficult, if not impossible to kill permanently and they had near unlimited power from what Esrin had been told. But if she was a cosmic being, it meant Felicity wasn’t human; she had just taken a human form and every time that form was destroyed, she ‘died’. It meant nothing could be done to curb or remove her powers. And she would need to reveal herself to the UN, probably.

It was quiet for a moment, before Felicity spoke again. “So those idiots in France a thousand years ago were sorta right. Frack.” She then started laughing hysterically.

“How is this funny?” Bucky asked.

“I don’t know, it just is. I mean, they killed me for being a witch, but it turns out I’m possibly an alien. You gotta admit, it’s a little funny. Except for being burned alive, that sucked.”

At this point, the two visitors realized Felicity might need some time to process everything and made their excuses to leave. Once they were gone, and Felicity stopped laughing, she and Bucky looked at one another.

“So, wanna join me as I process my way through a few gallons of ice cream?” Felicity asked. “Because that announcement calls for at least two cartons.”

“Uh, sure.” Bucky said.

“Ok, you go to our room and find something on Netflix, I’ll grab the ice cream and spoons.” She said before walking away.

Felicity Smoak had a working scale for how she processed news. Finding out Oliver Queen was the Arrow called for eating a carton of ice cream on her couch. Her dad showing up again, and trying to steal her tech, called for ice cream and a lot of wine. Hearing that she might actually be an alien maxed out that scale. It called for eating an unhealthy amount of ice cream in bed while watching some dumb comedy and possibly crying.

Ten minutes later, Felicity walked into her room carrying a huge stack of ice cream cartons. “I think this is enough for now. When this runs out, I’ll get more.”

“More? You’re carrying like 12 cartons.”

“You can almost eat Barry under the table and I’m freaking out. I’d be shocked if twelve cartons was too much, not too little.” She defended. Her phone then started to buzz. “Frack. It’s Curtis. I’m not in the mood to deal with work right now.” She answered the call. “I’m gonna call you back….why are you apologizing?.....yeah, I’m fine, why is that surprising?.....Ok, stop for a second, is it an end of the world situation?....Ok, so I’ll call you back tomorrow.” She hung up. “That was…weird. Anyway, back to ice cream.”

Hours later, when Bucky and Felicity were both ‘ice creamed out’ in the blonde’s words, he finally asked a question that had been bugging him.

“What powers do you have? I know you broke those windows and can move stuff with your mind, but I get the feeling that’s not all you can do.”

“Move stuff with my mind, read minds, teleport. I’m probably psychic, I think that’s how I knew you were Wakanda. I remember every second of every life I’ve lived. I made the glass in those windows completely disintegrate, down to the molecular level. And I’m pretty sure I brought some dead plants back to life by accident.”

“There is also the matter of your implant.” Mac announced.

“What about it?” she and Bucky both asked.

“One of the components malfunctioned earlier today. It hasn’t been fully operational in over 12 hours. That is why Mr. Holt keeps calling you, he just became aware of the problem.” Mac explained.

“That- it’s not possible. if the chip malfunctioned, or wasn’t fully working, we’d all know. I wouldn’t be able walk, and I’ve been doing that all day.” Felicity argued.

“You can access the diagnostic system on your phone. Look for yourself.”

Felicity pulled out her phone and started to do just that. She dropped the phone when she saw the word ‘ONLINE-MINIMAL OUTPUT’ written in big, red letters next to her implant number. Minimal output meant that the chip was working well enough for Felicity to feel her legs but muscle movement and muscle control should’ve been impossible. Standing up would’ve been a miracle at that level.

“How- what is- how is that possible? The damage was permanent, the nerves were completely unresponsive.”

“You must have some healing or regenerative abilities.” Mac said. “Shall I contact Ms. Fortuna?”

“No, not yet. I wanna rule everything else out first.” Felicity said distractedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> To clarify what Esrin/Faiza meant about cosmic beings vs. cosmic items/forces. here are some examples:  
> Cosmic force/item- Kree DNA, Infinity stones, the Speed Force, Thanagarian meteor, etc   
> Cosmic being/entity- Death, Phoenix Force, Infinity, Galactus, etc.
> 
> (One of the above examples is the source/explanation of Felicity's abilities. Any guesses?)


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky has a nightmare, Steve has a confrontation and we find out what happened to Wanda.

“You must have some healing or regenerative abilities.” Mac said. “Shall I contact Ms. Fortuna?”

“No, not yet. I wanna rule everything else out first.” Felicity said.

“You can do all of that tomorrow. It’s like two in the morning, let’s go to bed.” Bucky told her.

“But it’s a mystery and those bug me.” the blonde argued. She didn't want to admit it, but the blonde was scared. She had all of these inexplicable powers that she was barely controlling and needed answers now.

“I know, doll, I know you need to solve this mystery. But you also need to take care of yourself, which means getting enough sleep. It’s been a long day and I can tell you’re exhausted.” Felicity wanted to argue with Bucky, but he was being too sincere and concerned for her to get angry.

“Yeah, you’re right.” She conceded. Felicity and Bucky laid down next to each other. A few moments later, the blonde was asleep.

A few hours later, Felicity woke up with a jolt. She’d been in the middle of a weird, but nice, dream when all of a sudden, she felt scared. She could also hear whimpering from nearby. Turning to face Bucky, she figured out where the feeling of terror and the noises were coming from. Bucky was whimpering in his sleep and shaking. Even though Felicity's telepathic shields were up, her ability to still feel emotions wasn't blocked and she could feel his fear.

For a moment, Felicity contemplated going into his mind to see what was going on. She decided against it, since she and Bucky hadn’t talked about his nightmares and she didn’t want to violate his privacy. Bucky had had too many people influence his mind without his consent, she wasn’t going to join that club. She knew waking him up wasn’t the best idea, so she tried just talking to him.

**_“It’s not real, my love.”_** She said in a quiet, soothing voice. **_“Whatever you’re seeing isn’t real. You’re safe, I’m here. They can’t hurt you. Everything’s going to be okay. It’s just a bad dream.”_**

She kept repeating things like that until Bucky stopped shaking and his eyes blinked open. He turned his head and saw her looking at him with a worried expression. “Felicity, what-?”

“You had a nightmare. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just-” He said. “I’d rather not talk about it. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, you didn’t. You just kinda kept shaking and muttering to yourself.” She said. “I wasn’t sure if waking you up was a good idea, so I just talked to you until it stopped.”

“Thanks, I- sorry for waking you up.” He said.

“Honey, it’s okay.” She told him. “You never need to apologize to me for stuff like this. Nightmares happen to everyone.”

“Yeah, PTSD’s a bitch.” He said dejectedly. Bucky just wanted to get better. His therapist told him several times that ‘getting better’ wasn’t ‘being cured’, and he understood that. He was just sick of the nightmares and panic attacks. “I can’t even stand in the medical wing without needing to be sedated.”

“I can’t get into the backseat of the car without having a panic attack. I only take the stairs or the freight elevator because the last time I was in a confined space, Damian Darhk put me in a gas chamber to try and kill me. My point is, you might feel like you’re alone in this, but you aren’t. And you’re doing a lot better than you think.”

“How do you always know the right thing to say?”

“Can I tell you a secret?” she whispered conspiratorially. He nodded. “I don’t, I just try my best.” She moved closer and laid her head down on his chest. “Try to get back to sleep.” She said yawning.

 

The next day, Bucky went into the cafeteria and found Steve and Natasha already there. They waved him over. He hadn’t seen Steve since the gym, so Bucky steeled himself and walked over to them. As he sat down, he noticed Steve had two trays of food with him.

“Figured I’d run into you here, so I grabbed food for you. I guess it’s pizza day, so I grabbed you some sausage, because I know it’s your favorite.” Steve said.

“Thanks.” Bucky replied awkwardly.

His favorite foods were one of many things that had changed in the last seventy years. Additionally, Bucky had stopped eating pork because Felicity kept kosher and they usually ended up sharing food. He knew she noticed, but she hadn’t said anything about it. He picked at it to be polite.

“No Felicity?” Natasha asked.

“Nah, she’s got projects she’s working on and people she wanted to catch up with.” He answered. “Why?”

“I wanted a chance to talk to her. I think we got off on the wrong foot.” The redhead answered. She’d been thinking a lot about what Scott had said. Not only was Felicity a useful friend to have, she might know more than Scott did about what was really going on.

“I’d wait a few days.” Bucky said honestly.

“Look, I wanted to talk to you about what happened. In the gym.” Steve said, finally getting to his point.

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Buck, you almost-” He struggled to find words. “I know what you’re going thro-“

_He thinks he knows? He has no idea._

_I must agree with him. He has no idea what you or I or the Soldier has been through._

_I know right? Does he really think waking up in the future is our only or even our biggest problem?_

“No, you don’t.” Bucky replied.

“What are you saying, I-“

“You don’t know, and you will never know. Stop pretending that you do.” He said. “The file Natalia here gave you? I’ve read it, it barely scratches the surface of what they did. None of the files do.” He continued when Steve tried to argue. “Until it happens to you, you don’t know how it feels, so stop saying that you understand.”

_I’ve seen my own insides. I’ve had nearly every bone in my body broken. I was awake when they took my arm, Stevie. They didn’t want to waste pain meds on me. You’ll never know what that felt like._

Steve was about to respond when Natasha cut in. “Why don’t we take it down a notch?”

“No, he needs to understand this. You don’t know what you’re talking about, and the more you pretend that you do, the angrier I get. Stop saying you understand and stop saying what the Winter Soldier did wasn’t me. It’s unhelpful and insulting. I’m not the Bucky you knew, stop trying to bring him back.” He stood up. “Thanks for the pizza.”

Steve was frozen. He sat there gaping until Bucky was long gone from the room. “But I- I just- I wasn’t try-“

“I know that Steve.” Natasha replied. “But he is kinda right. He’s not the man you knew, and every time someone tell you that, you ignore them. You can’t stick your head in the sand forever.”

“But I-“

“Which matters more to you, helping Bucky or holding onto the past? Because you’re trying to do both and it hasn’t worked out that well, has it?” Natasha said. “Now, I need to see an inventor about some Widow Bites.”

* * *

 

**Lian Yu**

As the guards walked away from Wanda’s cell, she kept yelling that they ‘couldn’t do this’ to her. the man in the cell next to her sat up and watched the show for a few minutes before getting annoyed.

“Obviously they can do this to you. Because they did.” He drawled out. “Now shut the fuck up.”

“Do you know who I am?”

“Lady, I don’t give a shit. You wound up here, so I doubt anyone else does either.” He said before turning away. He was really starting to miss Slade, which he’d never admit out loud.

After Wanda’s meddling had been exposed, a team of agents had taken her from the Compound to a detention facility in Central City. She was there for nearly two days while others debated what to do about her.

She’d used mind control, which was a human rights violation, and that wasn’t covered in her pardon. She wasn’t a US citizen, so they couldn’t just arrest her and try her there. The US wanted to send her back to Sokovia, but the nation feared her return would make recent riots and unrest worse. Eventually, someone suggested holding her on Lian Yu until arrangements could be made to send her to the Hague for her trial. It was the most secure, and least accessible, prison they could think of.

Even if she got out of the cell, the prison facility was still heavily guarded. If she got past the guards, she’d still be stuck on a deserted island covered in land mines. ARGUS had installed a number of security upgrades after Slade was sent there. As inescapable prisons went, it was as close to perfect as they could get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> What do you think will happen next?


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The situation with Felicity's implant leads to her making a difficult decision, Clint gets some semi-good news and Natasha has a confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief reminder-the implant that helps Felicity walk isn't working the way it should. Her powers involve some kind of healing factor, so she didn't notice.

**Compound-Medical Wing**

After Bucky left the cafeteria, he asked Mac where Felicity was. The AI told him she and Dr. Strange, along with Dr. Cho who he hadn’t met, were in medical. His concern about Felicity overshadowed his fear of the area and he soon found himself down there as well. He got there right as Felicity was leaving an exam room.

“Why are you down here? Are you okay? What happened?” he started questioning her.

“I wanted a professional opinion about my back. Curtis wants to fix it, and all things considered, finding the source of the error is a priority.” She answered. “Unfortunately, that might involve shutting it off or taking it out.”

“But you’re fine.” He said, confused.

“Yeah, I’m fine. But what if the issue isn’t unique to me? My healing or whatever it is makes up for what the chip isn’t doing. If the same error happens to anyone else with a chip, they won’t be ok.”

“I guess I didn’t think of that.” Bucky admitted. “What did the doctors say?”

“Removing it shouldn’t be the first course of action. I’m gonna call Curtis and he’s gonna shut it off remotely. With it offline, hopefully diagnostics will get to the root of the problem.” She said. “I don’t know how much mobility, if any, I’ll have while he’s working on it. I needed some…supplies just in case.” The blonde didn’t want to get into the details of discussing catheters and other supplies she might need if turning off the chip put her back into a wheelchair. She loved Bucky, and she knew Bucky loved her, but that conversation got very personal, very fast.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Nothing. I just need you to be here for me. I mean, I know you’re gonna be here, it’s just- ugh- you know what I mean.” She said. “Oh, and you might need to reach things for me, if they’re too high. And only if I ask.”

“Well, I do that now, so…” Bucky joked. She hit him in the arm playfully. “What? I’m not the reason you’re only 5’5”.”

“Yeah, you’ve got a point there.” Felicity said as they walked away from the medical wing.

* * *

 

**Compound-Gym**

Sam was bracing a punching bag as Clint beat the hell out of it. The former therapist didn’t comment as Clint continued to talk to himself.

“Can’t believe they let this happen.” Punch. “They let her mess with our heads.” Punch. “She’s the reason Laura’s pissed at me.” Punch.

Internally, Sam was disagreeing with most of what Clint said. He didn’t know what ‘they’ Clint was referring to. Whoever ‘they’ were, Sam doubted they just let anything happen. He’d thought a lot about what Felicity and Strange said. Wanda left almost everyone’s mental acuity intact enough to make decisions, she didn’t give them personality transplants. Sam also didn’t say anything about Laura. Maybe the fight over the Accords were why she divorced Barton, maybe they weren’t. It wasn’t Sam’s business.  

Clint continued beating up the bag until he noticed someone else had come in. “What do you want?” He asked the agent who stood there.

“Tomorrow at 10am, you’ve got a meeting Mr. Barton. It’s to discuss visits from your kids. Agent Drake told me to tell you.” He turned and left.

* * *

 

**Compound-West Wing Lounge**

Natasha stood with her arms crossed and tried to stare Tony down. After lunch she’d gone looking for him to talk about upgrades to her Widow Bites. FRIDAY wasn’t helpful, so she tried to override the program, only to discover she couldn’t. Every attempt she made failed, and eventually two technicians showed up to investigate the attempted attack. The redhead managed to flee the scene just in time.

She went to the lounge at reevaluate her plans and the engineer showed up about ten minutes later. She intiated some small talk before guiding Tony to the topic she wanted. She was asking him to upgrade her Widow Bites and waive the rule about weapons outside the training areas. He immediately said no.

“Why not?”

“One, that would violate the conditions of your return. Two, I have no obligation to make you anything. Three, it violates the compound’s rules about weaponry.” The brunette answered.

“You make all the Avenger’s tech.” She argued. “And you own this compound, so you can change the rules.”

“I don’t make all the tech. My suit, Rhodey’s, and Spiderman’s, yes I handle those. Everyone else either goes through the Council to request items or builds what they need themselves.” He said. “And I don’t own the compound anymore. Having one person make all the rules, and be able to change them on a whim, didn’t sound like a good idea anymore.”

“If you don’t, then who does?”

“Officially, the UN. Rules and regulations are decided by a committee consisting of Compound residents, non-resident staff, liaisons and a few Council members.” Tony answered. He looked down at his phone. “Oh, they moved it to the east lounge. That explains a lot.” He left soon after.

Natasha sat stewing for a few minutes. She thought between her manipulation skills and the ‘for old time’s sake’ angle, she’d convince Tony to budge on a few things or at least help her out. Either she was slipping or he’d finally caught onto her. Now, she had two choices: try the same thing with Hand or go to Felicity and hope she fell for the old ‘I wanna start over’ trick.

“You should not be surprised he said no.” A voice said from behind her. The redhead jumped minutely and then turned. Nyssa was standing there. “Between your betrayal and that abysmal attempt at manipulation, he has finally seen the truth.” Natasha didn’t respond. “It seems your ego, not his, is the problem. After all, he lived up to expectations, you do not.”

“What expectations?”

“I’d heard of the Black Widow. I thought you would be…well, more. You were pitifully easy to find and insultingly easy to capture. I don’t know who told you that you were a great agent, or even a somewhat good one, but they were either delusional or incredibly stupid.” Nyssa said. “Or they set the bar just low enough for you to feel important.” Without saying anything else, the brunette sauntered away.

Nyssa was excited for her fight against Natasha was part of the redhead’s evaluation.

* * *

 

**Compound-West Wing**

After finding Felicity, the blonde retreated to her lab to clear her head and Bucky started wandering around the compound to clear his. Unfortunately, he ran into Steve about an hour after he started. He immediately started to backtrack, but then the former captain called out to him.

“Wait, Buck, I-“

“Not in the mood to talk right now.” He said.

_Both the Soldier and Ra’s want out. Felicity might be paralyzed in a few hours and she’s scared. I’m scared. Ra’s is freaking out about it too. I can’t deal with that and you right now. Go away!_

“I just wanted to-“

“Not now, okay? I’ve got things I need to do.”

The blonde went to argue, but then he remembered what Natasha had said and replied, “Ok. just- when you’ve got time, come find me.”

* * *

 

**Star City**

Curtis looked over the biostimulant’s schematics again and let out a groan. Until he disabled Felicity’s chip, he couldn’t even begin to troubleshoot what the issue might be. He felt terrible that this was happening to his friend and that the only way to help her was to possibly cause her more pain. He took a deep breath and hit ‘call’ on Skype.

“Felicity, I am so, so sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me, Curtis. Just do what you need to do.” She told him.

“Ok. You ready?”

Felicity closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. Do it.”

* * *

 

**Compound-Felicity’s Room**

Felicity closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. Do it.”

“Okay.” Curtis said from the other end of the call. She could hear typing through the screen. “It’s going offline in 3, 2, 1. It’s off.”

“How are- do you- can you-?” Bucky started to say. He knew what he wanted to ask, but couldn’t find the words.

“Yes and no.” The blonde answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's condition is revealed, Clint talks to Laura, and Tony has a question. Oh, and there's a Batman reference.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor.

“How are- do you- can you-?” Bucky started to say. He knew what he wanted to ask, but couldn’t find the words.

“Yes and no.” The blonde answered.

“Yes and no. What does that even mean?” Bucky asked Felicity. The chip that helped her walk was deactivated. Best case scenario, her powers had healed her and she’d be okay. Worst case scenario, she was paralyzed again like she was after the shooting. She seemed to be somewhere in the middle and Bucky didn’t know what that meant.

“I don’t feel like I did after the shooting, but I also don’t feel like I did when the chip was working.” Felicity took a deep breath and moved to get up. “I can- I can feel my legs. Last time, it was like- anyway, I can feel them, and move them. See?” She bent one of her legs to prove her point. She put one hand on Bucky’s shoulder as she pushed herself up. She stood, shakily, on her own. “And I can do this- maybe.” She stood, with Bucky’s help, but as soon as he moved away, she fell back down. “We’ll work on that. Walking’s off the table for now.”

“I’m gonna get right to work.” Curtis said before ending the call.

“I know this isn’t what you wanted, but is this closer to the good end of the spectrum or the bad end?” Bucky knew there were different types of spinal cord injuries and different levels of severity. He didn’t know where Felicity currently fell on the spectrum, but he wanted to know.

“The good end, at least for me. Last time I couldn’t feel anything, couldn’t move anything. I can feel some stuff now, move my legs. Sure, not being able to stand for too long or walk is a bummer, but I’ve dealt with worse.” She said.

Five minutes after the call ended, the couple had a visitor.

“Ms. Smoak?” Mac said. “Dr. Cho is outside.”

“Let her in please.”

The door opened and Helen came in. “What’s the verdict?”

“I can feel my legs, I can stand but not for long. Walking is a no-go.” She answered matter-of-factly. “Not so bad, all things considered. Still gonna need a chair, though.”

“I’ll have someone bring one up.” Dr. Cho said. “Tomorrow, stop by medical when you get a chance. I want to run a few of those tests we discussed.”

“No problem, doc.”

A nurse brought up a wheelchair for Felicity. Helen said her goodbyes to Felicity and Bucky before leaving. As soon as the doctor left, Bucky turned to Felicity. She seemed happy enough when the other woman was here, but he could tell she was upset.

“How are you really doing?”

“Fine, I just- this is harder than I thought.” She said sadly.

“You know what might help a little?” Bucky said. The blonde shook her head. “Pizza, ice cream and Netflix.”

* * *

 

**Next Day**

The next morning, a persistent noise woke Felicity up. Groggily, she leaned up on one elbow to see where the noise was coming from. Bucky wasn’t in bed and the shower was running. She saw her phone on the other side of the room buzzing.

“Who is it Mac?” she asked as she lay back down.

“Mr. Holt, he’s made several calls already.”

“Answer it, I guess.” She told the program. A few seconds later, Curtis voice spoke.

“Felicity?”

“What is it Curtis? What time is it over there?”

“A little after 6am. I’ve got good news and bad news, which do you want first?”

“Good news, I guess.” She said shrugging.

“I’ve found the source of the malfunction.”

“The bad news?”

“Even though I know what the problem is, I don’t know how to fix it just yet. I’m doing all I can but-”

“Curtis, stop beating yourself up. Do I need to contact the other recipients?”

“No, that’s the 'kinda good, kinda bad' part of what happened. They’re all gonna be fine, because your chip is the only one susceptible to this malfunction. Yours was the prototype and by the time I made the other ones, I’d already redesigned the implant. Those implants don’t even have the part that’s causing the issue.”

“Oh.” She said, a little surprised. “Thanks, Curtis.” Mac ended the call before anyone could say anything else. Just as the call ended, Bucky stepped out of the bathroom.

“Hey.”

“Hi. I take it you heard all of that? You know, since the shower wasn’t running for most of the conversation.” she said.

“Yeah. I know eavesdropping is rude, so, sorry about that. I can guess you’re pretty mad that I was listening.” He responded. He didn’t see the point in trying to lie. She’d see through it and then they’d get into a fight about it anyway.

“Not as mad as you’d think. Now, I’ve got one less person to explain the situation to.” She braced herself and sat up. “Can you bring my chair over here? I might as well get dressed.”

Bucky grabbed the chair and moved it over to near the bed. “Should I just put it here or-?”

“I can get into it on my own.” She assured him. “Thanks for offering though.”

“Are you-?”

Felicity didn’t say anything. Instead she shot him an annoyed look. She settled herself into the chair and wheeled herself over to the closet. “Hmm….guess I’ll go with pants today.” She said to herself as she looked through her clothes. “Feels like a pants kinda day. Oh, I have missed you, light-blue peplum shirt. Come to mama.” Out of the corner of his eye, Bucky saw her reach up for something. He immediately came over and tried to help her. “Don’t. I got it.” She said before he could reach for it. “Gotcha!”

“I’m doing that ‘being overly helpful’ thing you were talking about yesterday, aren’t I?” Bucky asked.

They’d ended up talking late into the night about Felicity’s situation and what her fears and concerns were. The blonde had explained that what annoyed her most about living with a disability wasn’t the changes it meant to her everyday life or even the loss of her mobility. It was everyone else acting like she constantly needed help and ignoring her every time she assured them that she didn’t. She wasn’t able-bodied anymore, but that didn’t mean she was completely helpless. Bucky experienced the same thing, albeit on a small scale, during the few months between getting out of cryo and getting a new arm.

“It’s a transition.” She assured him. “But you’re doing good so far.”

It took her a little longer than yesterday, but soon enough, Felicity was dressed and she and Bucky were heading downstairs for breakfast. They found the kitchen empty, with a note saying ‘Meet us in the cafeteria’ on the fridge.

“Oh frack.” She said as they got to the first floor. “It’s Sunday.”

Sundays, everyone had brunch together. Felicity hadn’t told many people what was going on. Dr. Strange, Tony, Rhodey, Sara, Ray and Nyssa all knew Felicity’s implant was being temporarily deactivated, but that was it. The blonde wasn’t concerned about any of the New Avengers or the Defenders or Spiderman. She was worried about the Rogues. She wasn’t on great terms with most of them and didn’t want to deal with them on top of this.

“We can skip it.” Bucky suggested.

“No, I’d rather get the staring over with.” She said as she rolled over towards the door. “But I might need to run over a few people’s feet.”

Soon enough, the couple made it to the cafeteria. A few seconds after they entered the room, half the people went silent. Thankfully, before anyone could ask questions, Tony and Jennifer both came over to them.

“Glad you two could make it.” Jennifer said.

“You’re late.” Tony said in a mock angry voice.

“Yeah, by five minutes. I don’t think anyone noticed.” Felicity shot back.

The pair walked with Bucky and Felicity as they moved further into the room. Felicity could hear Steve, Sam and Clint ask the people around them about why Felicity was using a wheelchair. Natasha shushed them and said it wasn’t their business.

Things settled down for a little bit and everyone sat down to eat. Eventually, the suspense became too much for him, and Steve spoke.

“Are you okay?” he asked Felicity.

“Yeah, I’m great.” She told him. He didn’t respond right away, but his eyes fell to her chair. “Oh, you mean this. I’m fine.”

“You’re a cripple.” He argued. Down the table, several people inhaled sharply, unsure of how Felicity would respond to that.

“Calling someone a cripple is incredibly rude. Don’t call me, or anyone else, that again. Disabled is a better term. I actually prefer the term ‘person living with a disability’. It sounds better. Because I’m a person first and my disability is secondary. Anyway, I’ve been like this since before your little parking lot fistfight. Thanks to some great tech, I usually don’t need a chair. Today isn’t one of those days. Also, it isn’t your business.”

“Ok, but what’s wro-?”

“Clint, shut up.” Natasha interjected. She could guess what he wanted to ask, and knew the question ‘what’s wrong with you’ wouldn’t go over well. “She just said she was okay.”

* * *

 

**Conference Room**

A little after 10, an agent fetched Clint for his meeting. The archer couldn’t pinpoint what he was currently feeling. He was excited to see Laura, annoyed about the situation with her, angry that he couldn’t see his kids without jumping through hoops. He was also hopeful that he could talk her into reconsidering.

The agent brought him into a conference room, only to find it mostly empty. Only one other person was there. “I thought we had a meeting. What gives?” he barked out.

“It’s a video conference, Mr. Barton.” Foggy said as he stood up. “We’re waiting for your ex-wife and her attorney to set everything set up on their end.”

The two men sat in a tense silence until the screen flickered to life. Laura and a woman Clint didn’t recognize appeared.  “Sorry for the delay. There’s a reason I went into law and not into technology.”

“Where are the kids?” Clint asked Laura, completely ignoring her lawyer.

“At a friend’s house. I thought it was better this way.” Laura answered. “We need to get a few things straight before you see them.”

“I didn’t do anything. It was all Wanda.” Clint argued.

“It wasn’t all Wanda. She messed with your head, yes, but she didn’t make you leave your family or force you to break dozens of laws.” Laura shot back. “And that mess isn’t why this is happening.”

“It’s not?”

“No. I was pissed when my husband left me alone, in the middle of nowhere, with three kids to go get himself arrested, I’ll admit that. But the divorce, losing custody, that was a long time coming.” She said. “You need help and until you get some, I don’t want you around the kids.”

“I’m fine.”

“Not according to a number of people at the Compound.”

“Mr. Barton,” Rachel Dawes, Laura’s lawyer, began to say, “we’ve given Mr. Nelson a copy of the conditions Laura is willing to agree to regarding visitation. Let’s go over it, shall we?”

* * *

 

**Felicity’s Lab**

After brunch, Felicity went to her lab. Bucky took off to explore the compound library, sensing she wanted to be alone for a while. A few hours later, the door to the lab opened. without looking up, she spoke.

“I’m gonna be a little while longer. Just figured out what was wrong with this line of code.”

The response wasn’t what Felicity was anticipating. “Whatever, I’ve got nowhere else to be.” Tony said.

She looked up. “Sorry, I thought you were Bucky.”

“Well, we both have very luscious hair.” He joked. “There’s something that’s been bugging me for a while.”

“Spill.”

“You and Barnes keep getting reincarnated at roughly the same time, right? Give or take a few years.” She nodded. “So, what happened in the 1940s? Barnes was born in 1917, reason says you should’ve been born around that time too.”

Felicity sighed. “I was. He hasn’t realized it yet, and I’m the only one who knows this. This is his fifth life, it’s my sixth.”

“There was a version of you before the war?” Bucky asked from the doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's life in the 1940s is discussed, which leads to some questions. Answering those questions leads to quite a big revelation. Also, Ra's isn't always super helpful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder to a few things:  
> \- Rip Hunter told Felicity Bucky's fall was fixed  
> -Neither Bucky nor Felicity know what causes their rebirths  
> -I'm a little mean

**Felicity's Lab**

“This is his fifth life, it’s my sixth.” She said to Tony.

“There was a version of you before the war?” Bucky asked from the doorway.

“Yeah. I didn’t quite know how to tell you. I mean, it’s one thing to talk about the lives we shared. Talking about the one we didn’t and the possibilities, was just-”

“I’m gonna give you two a minute.” Tony said, leaving the room.

“Were you- how did she die? Was it because of the war?”

“It was.”

“Was it in a-?”

Felicity could guess what the next two words were. Logically, she could understand why he might think that incarnation of her might’ve died in a concentration camp. That didn’t make it any easier to think about. “No, she lived in London. Her name was Evelyn Coburn. She was both January 6, 1920. The war broke out and Evie became a nurse. She died on February 1, 1945.” Felicity told him.

“That’s-“

“The day before you fell from that train. I know.” She interjected. “From what I’ve gathered, the universe has a plan. That’s why when one of us dies, the other is never far behind. Evie was killed in an air strike the day before you went on that mission. You fell from that train, the Soviets found you, and, if I had to guess, at some point your heart stopped. The Soviets restarted your heart, but by then, I was already dead and impossible to bring back. So, the universe had to wait for me to be reborn.”

“But we were supposed to meet then.”

“I guess. Or maybe there was just a window of time back then when we could’ve met. Nothing’s entirely certain, there’s just opportunity for something to happen. We keep getting nudged in the right direction but maybe its more coincidence than fate that brings us together and we were lucky the first four times. Or something got in the way, like the war. I don’t know.”

It was quiet for several moments before Bucky spoke again. “I’m sorry. Evie died because-.”

“She didn’t die because of you, there was a war going on. I’m the one who should be sorry.”

“Why?”

“Evie died, so Felicity Smoak got a clean slate. Bucky Barnes died, but they brought him back. If they hadn’t, you would’ve gotten one too. None of the stuff you’ve gone through would’ve happened.”

“Maybe the universe just realized too late that the 1940s wasn’t the right time for us.” Bucky suggested.

“No, it’s more than that. Two thousand years of experience and it suddenly messes up? I don’t buy that.” Felicity said. “It’s the one era we didn’t meet, but also the one era where only one of us died.” Then, she remembered what Rip Hunter had told her in 1941. “What if Rip was right?”

“Who’s Rip?” Bucky asked.

“You know how I told you about that time machine I built?” Bucky nodded. “I never told you how I knew it worked. I traveled to New York the day after the Pearl Harbor attack. I bought a newspaper as proof I’d done it. On my way back to where I’d hidden the machine, I almost ran into you. Me, not Evie.”

“You did?”

“Yeah, I would’ve met you, back then, but then a man named Rip Hunter, who’s job it is to protect the timeline, pulled me out of your path.”

“Ok, and?”

“He thought I was there to warn you about the war or something. He said I couldn’t stop you from falling from that train, the fall, your survival, he claimed that it was a fixed event.”

“How could it be a fixed event?” Bucky wondered.

“I don’t know.” Felicity said honestly.

“I can suggest someone, or rather something, that might.” Mac said to them. “Gideon.”

“Who is-?”

“Gideon is an AI, I wrote her to run the Waverider, the Legends’ ship. She’s basically Mac’s sister.” Felicity grabbed Bucky’s arm and pulled him out of the room. “Have the Legends left yet?”

“Captain Lance is participating in the evaluations tomorrow, so they have not.” Mac replied. “There’s just one issue. The ship is located in the woods, a quarter mile away from the gate.”

“Why can’t you just ask Mac?” Bucky asked.

“Because Gideon and Mac have different purposes. They have access to different information. Mac knows things Gideon doesn’t and vice versa.” Felicity answered. “Take my hand.”

* * *

 

**Waverider**

As soon as Bucky grabbed her hand, Felicity teleported them into the woods. They happened to land about five feet away from the ship. He needed a few moments to get his bearings.

“Sorry, probably should’ve warned you before I did that.”

“Yeah, do that next time.”

Felicity wheeled herself over to the hatch and Bucky followed. The blonde moved inside and found herself in the secret room Gideon had led her to last time. “Umm…Gideon?”

“Yes, Ms. Smoak?”

“Can you explain why Bucky falling from the train in 1945 is a fixed event?” Felicity asked. “I mean, if it doesn’t mess up the timeline.”’

“It doesn’t. You could’ve asked as soon as you discovered your powers.” The AI said. “It is a fixed event because you two didn’t meet, but Evelyn was always going to be reborn.”

“Umm…what?” the blonde asked.

“The cycle of birth, death and rebirth you are in is not caused by an outside force like Ms. Saunders and Mr. Hall. It is caused by you, Ms. Smoak. Or rather, your abilities. They are also what causes Sergeant Barnes’ rebirth, with a slight caveat. You need to remember him in order to reincarnate him. In the 1940s, that didn’t happen. Evelyn Coburn died, and if Sergeant Barnes had stayed dead in that era, he could not be reincarnated. Yet, Evelyn needed to be reincarnated as Felicity and without you two meeting and remembering one another, she would’ve been unable to fully access her powers.”

“So this is all my fault.” Felicity said sadly. “Because I died.”

“No, it’s the war’s fault. No one man, woman or entity can account for everything, not even you. You died unexpectedly, so fate had to intervene. Sergeant Barnes falling from that train and being found by the Soviets was the only scenario where he’d survive long enough for you to meet him now. The universe may not keep bringing you back, but it appears to need you to come back.”

“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Bucky asked. “Not that this wasn’t helpful, it’s just-“

“I have already told you everything I know about this topic.” Gideon said. “I would suggest returning to the Compound.”

With one question answered and hundreds of new ones, Felicity and Bucky left the Waverider.

* * *

 

**The Compound**

“Well, that was only half of a bust.” Felicity said as she wheeled herself back into her lab. “We got the one question answered.”

“And a thousand new ones to think about. How-? What-?” Bucky had way too many questions, all vying to be the first one he asked.

He only believed reincarnation was possible because he had experience. In every other life, they’d assumed fate or some higher being was bringing them back. Now, he knew it wasn’t any kind of deity, it was Felicity. That just made it even more confusing. Because this meant either Felicity was a higher being, or…. He didn’t have an ‘or’ figured out yet. It was a lot to process.

_I always knew she was a goddess._

_How is a man called ‘The Demon Head’ such a sap?_ The Soldier asked.

_Because the Demon is the League itself and I am its leader, or head. The title inspires fear, but the title and the man who wields it are not the same entity._

_Wait, how did you know she was a goddess?_ Bucky wondered. He didn’t remember finding anything like this out the first time he was Ra’s.

_I am merely waxing poetic. Laila has always had an explicable quality about her. This new revelation simply confirms that feeling._

Bucky was pulled out of his inner debate when the door to the lab opened and other people came into the room.

“When were you going to tell us?” One of them asked.

“Tell you what?” Felicity responded.

"The truth, for starters."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> What do you think that ending's about?


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some confrontations, some gauntlets thrown down and more discussion of time travel.

Bucky was pulled out of his inner debate when the door to the lab opened and other people came into the room.

“When were you going to tell us?” They asked.

“Tell you what?” Felicity responded.

“The truth, for starters.”

“Ok, look. I don’t wanna play the guessing game, so please just tell me what you’re talking about.”

“Your powers.” Ross said.

“Tommy Merlyn being alive.” Hand said at the same time. “Sergeant Barnes’ mental state.”

“Flashpoint.” Dinah said.

“Gideon.” Ray said.

They all looked at each other in confusion. Clearly, they hadn’t planned this confrontation at all.

“Ok, I’ll explain in order then. The Accords say any enhanced individual who partakes in field operations needs to disclose their abilities. I’m a non-combatant, so I’m not required to tell you anything about what I can do. I’m not in the field so you don’t need to know. I did inform the Council that I had abilities, but didn’t elaborate on them since I didn’t have to.” Ross looked annoyed, but nodded. “I didn’t tell you Tommy was alive because he’s got enough going on. He spent years in a coma. People want him dead for what his father did. On top of that, he says he wants to be left alone. He’s given ARGUS as much intel as he can about his father. I didn’t say anything about Flashpoint because I didn’t know until after the fact. By that point, the changes were set in stone and nothing could be done to change them. Also, how exactly was supposed to tell the people who died in the pre-Flashpoint timeline that they aren’t supposed to be alive? Or tell the people who lost friends and family when the timeline reset that it was just a byproduct of it?” She then turned to Ray. “I think you know why I didn’t say anything about Gideon. If not, ask her and she’ll explain.”

“And my mental state isn’t your business. I went to all my psych evaluations, I see my therapist regularly and I was cleared for field duty. Beyond that, my mental health is private.” Bucky spoke up and said.

“Anything else you’d all like to say?” Felicity asked.

“No, but you should know, we weren’t the only ones who wanted to talk to you. The others just couldn’t get into this area.”

“Which others?” the blonde asked. She kinda hoped it was Slade. He might antagonize her, but he rarely went beyond snide comments. The others were another matter entirely.

“Rogers, Romanov and Barton.”

“Sam Wilson is also there, but he seems to be trying to talk them down.” FRIDAY said.

“Great.” Felicity scoffed as she wheeled out of the room. “Let’s get this over with.”

Soon enough, Felicity and Bucky found themselves at the entrance to the east wing. Two very bored-looking guards were standing there as Steve and Clint yelled that Tony ‘needed to let them in’ and they ‘just wanted to clear a few things up’.

“There a reason why you’re screaming in the middle of the hallway at,” Felicity checked her phone, “3:17 in the afternoon while people are trying to work?”

“Yeah, they don’t like hearing the word ‘no’.” Tony remarked as he walked up behind her. “P.S. Science Club is still on for tonight.”

“Yeah, no duh.” The blonde responded. She really wanted to blow something up.

“We need to talk to you.” Steve said in an authoritative voice.

“About?”

“You know where my family is.” Clint said. “I overheard Nelson mention it to someone.”

“Yes, I do.”

“You’re gonna tell me.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You’re going to tell me, or-.”

“Or what?!” Felicity said, raising her voice. “What will you do? Better yet, what can you do? Because threatening me or attacking me will get you a cell next to Maximoff’s. You’ve seen what happens when you try to break into secure areas, so that’s a no-go. You have nothing to bargain or barter with. So, really, you can do nothing.” She got calmer as she spoke. “Laura’s given you a few options for getting visitation, I suggest you start working on that.” She turned to the others. “What else?”

“Havenrock, for one.” Natasha said. “You could’ve mentioned that you caused the attack.”

 “You don’t know a goddamn thing about Havenrock. I know someone like you, who burns down hospitals and gets dozens of innocent people killed for her ego, wouldn’t understand this, but I didn’t cause what happened to the city. I was just unable to prevent it from happening. It’s a subtle difference. Like Rogers over here, he didn’t cause Bucky to fall from the train, he was just unable to prevent it. Now, all those people who died when you dropped helicarriers on them, those deaths he did cause.”

“Hey, now-“

“I’m not done talking.” Felicity continued. “Yes, you exposed Hydra, but the supposed ‘world’s best spy’ couldn’t tell her own agency had been infiltrated and when you dumped all those files, over two dozen undercover operations in the US alone were compromised.  People died, but you were too important to even pretend to feel bad.” She scoffed. “Get off your high horse.”

“Fine, what about your powers? When were you gonna tell us about them?” Steve asked.

“I think you’re confused. I don’t answer to you. You answer to me, because I outrank you. I’m not obligated to tell you anything. You’re not the leader of the Avengers, you’re not the leader of anything.”

“And your involvement with ARGUS-?”

“Says the former SHIELD operatives. She’s a consultant.” Tony butted in.

“What about our return? We were pardoned, but-”

“The UN said you got to come back. It didn’t say everyone had to kiss your ass or pretend like you didn’t screw up.” Felicity said. “People are pissed at you. Until you start showing some remorse or accept responsibility, that’s not gonna change.”

Barton, Roger and Romanov all opened their mouths to argue. Clint and Steve were about to start splitting the blame between Wanda and Tony, while Natasha was going the more reasonable route. Her argument was that yes, she’d made mistakes, but she wasn’t the only one.

“Do any of you have an actual point or are you gonna keep talking out of your ass?” Bucky asked, speaking for the first time. “Everyone here’s done shit they aren’t proud of and wishes they’d done differently. Everyone’s got things they need to make up for, including all of you. No one here, except you, is pretending they’ve never fucked up or made a bad call. Every time you open your mouths, it’s either some irrelevant argument or another excuse. I’m getting sick of hearing it.”

“A-fucking-men to that.” One of the guards said.

Felicity turned and went back into the east wing. Steve tried to talk to Bucky or Tony. Neither responded. Bucky wasn’t in the mood to deal with Steve, especially after this morning. Tony wasn’t interested in hearing his excuses and just left. The group dispersed after that.

* * *

 

 

**West Wing**

After the confrontation in the east wing, the Rogues skulked back to their wing to regroup. They weren’t sure what outcome they wanted when they left to confront Felicity, but it wasn’t what happened. Instead of getting her to see their side and make some concessions, they’d only made her angrier. She made comments that cut deep and to the point. It was an unexpected feeling, being cut down that quickly and efficiently. Sam went into his room when they returned, stopping only to say that he warned them about forcing a confrontation.

The others stayed in the common room talking. After about an hour, Natasha left to get food.

“Did you see this?” She asked as she came back into the common room. She was holding a sheet of paper.

“No, what is it?”

“The ground rules for our evaluations. Which are at 8am tomorrow.”

“They didn’t have ground rules.” Clint remarked.

“Apparently, mine does. Steve’s too probably.”

“What’s it say?”

“No weapons allowed. I can’t appear before my designated time. I can only communicate any concerns or questions through Agent Hand. I have to submit a list of ‘non-combat’ skills I’m comfortable using on missions. It also says something about the evaluation being blind.”

“What does that mean?” Steve asked.

“A blind evaluation means you’re paired someone you haven’t worked with before and you haven’t seen them work before. It also means you don’t get to know who’s evaluating you.” Drake said from the doorway. “Everyone’s evaluation follows those rules.”

“What about not being able to communicate to anyone other than Hand?”

“That’s only in regards to the actual tests. It’s to make things fair for everyone. You get to have a say in what you do or don’t want to be tested on. The people running it have a way to communicate with you beforehand and there’s less of a chance someone will be blindsided.”

“Why tell us this the night before?”

“I personally handed you that printout your first day here. You’ve had more than enough time to read it.” Dinah answered. “See you at 8am and you at 9, Mr. Rogers.”

“Why do I get the feeling this is a trap?” Clint said after Dinah left.

* * *

**Tony's Lab**

“So, you built a time machine.” Tony remarked nonchalantly as he and Felicity set up their experiment in his lab. Every Sunday, Tony and Felicity had Science Club, as he called it, where they did random, useless experiments to blow off some steam, and sometimes blow things up.

“Yeah. The ‘how’ and ‘why’ gets a little…. _Primer_ -y. Future-me told Present-me how to do it based on what Future-me was told when Future-me was Present-me. It’s one giant time loop, like Sara and Nyssa.”

“Sara and Nyssa? What does your best friend and her girlfriend have to do with time travel?”

“To give you the very short version: a lot. The two of them meeting is part of a time loop. Nyssa found Sara off the shores of Lian Yu in mid-2009. Nyssa went there because in 1960, Sara had told Nyssa’s father to send her to Lian Yu on that day in 2009.”

“This is sounding very science fiction-like.” Tony said.

“It’s not exactly fiction anymore.” Felicity said.

“Why haven’t you used it then?” Tony asked.

“I use it occasionally. I’ve just been careful not to cause any changes. I met Abraham Lincoln, but I didn’t stop him from going to the theatre on April 14, 1865. Every cause has more than one effect, and random acts of chance I can’t account for. It’s the whole _A Sound of Thunder*_ thing.”

Felicity had used her version of the Waverider a lot more than she let on. Sometimes, it was out of curiosity. She wondered if Napoleon was really that short or if Nero really fiddled while Rome burned. Other times, it was personal. She wanted to find and reclaim some of her stuff from a past life. Once, she’d used it for a different purpose. There was something from before her first life that she couldn’t risk anyone finding. Felicity Smoak turned out to be the reason that particular item was ‘lost to the mists of time’ and every attempt to find it ended in failure or disaster.

“Are we gonna blow something up or what?” She asked Tony, snapping back to reality.

“Hell yes.”

“Pardon the interruption, but you have a visitor.” FRIDAY said.

“Who is it?” Tony asked.

“Professor Xavier. He says he needs to talk to Ms. Smoak about her abilities.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> What do you think Felicity stole/hid from her first life? What does Xavier have to say?
> 
> *=A Sound of Thunder- A Ray Bradbury short story. A time traveller wants to kill a dinosaur, he steps on a butterfly during the hunt and kills it. This causes a ripple effect which changes the whole timeline.


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Charles talk, Nyssa and Natasha fight, and Sara punches someone in the face.

“Pardon the interruption, but you have a visitor.” FRIDAY said.

“Who is it?” Tony asked.

“Professor Xavier. He says he needs to talk to Ms. Smoak about her abilities.” FRIDAY answered. “He’s waiting in one of the conference rooms.”

“Sorry, I gotta go.” She hurried from the room.

“Wait, why is this so important?” Tony asked.

“It’s about a hunch I had. We’ll get back to Science, with a capital S, when I get back.” She yelled over her shoulder as she continued down the hallway.

Felicity took a deep breath before opening the door to the conference room. “Hey Charles.”

“Good evening, Felicity. I suppose you already know why I’m here.”

“Yeah, FRIDAY said you needed to talk about my abilities when she told me you were here.” The blonde answered. “So, is this about that thing I asked you about or something else?”

When Felicity had gone to the school to talk about Wanda, she’d asked Charles if he could look into something for her. At that point, she hadn’t known that her powers were cosmic. She wondered, briefly, if she was a mutant and figured the professor was the best person to ask.

“It is. You don’t have the X-gene, meaning you are not a mutant.”

“Yeah, it was a long shot. I’ve never heard of a mutant that needed to meet a specific person for their mutation to manifest itself. Thank you for looking into this anyway.”

“There’s something else. You don’t have the X-gene, but when I analyzed your DNA, I found some abnormalities in it. I don’t know much more than that, since I’ve never seen abnormalities like it. I feel foolish just for saying this, but it’s almost like your DNA is partially….alien.”

“That’s because it probably is.” Felicity admitted. “I- there was so much going on that I didn’t get a chance to tell you I discovered something about my powers. They’re cosmic. So, either I’m a cosmic entity, I encountered a cosmic force centuries ago or I found an alien artifact several centuries ago. I still don’t know which one.”

“If I may, I think you can probably rule out the alien artifact theory. Whether you’re a cosmic entity or you encountered a cosmic force is another matter entirely, but I’m fairly certain finding an alien artifact would be difficult to forget regardless of how many centuries had passed.” Charles said.

“You’ve got a point there.”

Charles and Felicity discussed the latter’s powers for about half an hour before the professor left. As Felicity headed back to Tony’s lab, a thought struck her. If she’d encountered some cosmic force, and that force gave her her powers, that’s something else she’d remember. Or at the very least, she’d remember the ‘before and after’ of an event like that. The only way she wouldn’t was if she was a small child when it happened. Things looked like they were leaning more and more towards the ‘Felicity’s a cosmic entity’ end of the spectrum.

Tony was arguing with Dum-E when she came into the room. “You gotta stop spraying everything with the fire extinguisher. Wait until something’s actually on fire.”

“Still struggling to explain the idea to him?” Felicity asked.

“One day, I’ll get through to him.” He responded. “What’d the professor want?”

“I asked him on Wednesday if he’d test my DNA for traces of the X-gene. It was, unsurprisingly, a bust.” She said.

“You thought you might be a mutant?” He asked.

“I wanted to be thorough. I’ve been trying to figure out the source of my powers for months. My DNA has some abnormalities, but I’m not a mutant. Or an Inhuman. Or a metahuman.”

“Not to be rude, but what are you then?”

“Not sure. I know my powers are cosmic, but that’s it.”

“Cosmic powers….” Tony said, sounding kind of distracted. “I might be able to help you eliminate some things. But first, science!”

After the Chitauri, and after Tony’s vision during the Ultron debacle, the engineer had poured hours into learning as much as he could about cosmic threats. He focused mostly on the Infinity Stones and other objects, but he’d come across plenty of information on other universal forces and beings.

“Yes, first we science. I’ve been itching to blow something up for the last few days.” Felicity said excitedly.

“I could kinda tell.” Tony said. “Let’s make some shit explode.”

“I like the way you think. What’s up first, the watermelon or this bucket of paint?” Felicity said. “My vote’s for the watermelon. It’s a classic.”

The next two hours were filled with explosions and bits of fruit flying everywhere.

* * *

 

**Compound Training Area-Next Morning**

When Felicity reached the training room the next morning, almost everyone was already there. She spotted Nyssa and Sara standing off to the side and went over to them.

“You’re walking.” Sara said.

“Yeah, Curtis found a temporary fix to the chip issue. It’s not a permanent solution, but- anyway, you ready for this?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Sara shrugged. She liked sparring but wasn’t as eager as others seemed to be. “If nothing else, I’ll get to brag about punching Captain America in the face.”

“I’ve been ready for some time.” Nyssa answered. “I want to see for myself how good this supposed ‘world’s best assassin’ truly is.”

“She isn’t the world’s best assassin, though, Barnes is.” Sara pointed out.

“He also was, and currently is, the Demon Head. Comparing him against anyone other than another Demon Head is unfair.”

When news of Bucky’s resurrection reached the ears of the League of Assassins, they unanimously agreed that he was Ra’s al Ghul. The last test for an Heir to the Demon was to kill the current Demon Head. Even though he survived due to resurrection, Bucky did technically survive the sword of Nyssa’s father and fulfilled the prophecy that led to Oliver joining the League. Bucky hadn’t done much during his second reign as Ra’s al Ghul. His only orders so far could be summed up as ‘listen to Nyssa’ and ‘don’t bother me’, but with Ra’s resurfacing last week, the other assassins doubted it would remain that way for long.

“Fair enough. You’re sure she didn’t recognize you?” Felicity asked. If Natasha recognized Nyssa from her imprisonment in Nanda Parbat, it would leave Felicity with a few things to explain.

“No. She consumed voltura in one form or another for the entirety of her stay. She might feel déjà vu when she sees me, but she can’t prove anything beyond that.”

Felicity was called away by Victoria Hand shortly after. Five minutes later, Natasha came into the room. Steve came with her, but hung towards the back of the room. A few moments before it looked like Hand was about to get the evaluation started, Nyssa felt someone come up behind her. She turned slightly and saw Bucky.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.” He answered. “I know you’re Natalia’s ‘sparring partner’ for today. Try not to kill her.”

 “Are you saying this as James Barnes or as the Demon Head? She was once a student of yours.”

“Yes, I taught her years ago. But I’ve had a lot of students over the last few centuries. She’s not that unique. I don’t want you to kill her, because if you simply just beat her, she has to live with knowing she’s not as great as she thinks.” He said before walking away.

The Winter Soldier might’ve been Romanov’s teacher years ago, but by the look of things, she’d forgotten a lot of what he taught her, especially when it came to ego. It had started to annoy him, the fact that Natasha had bought into her own legend. She needed a reality check. Unfortunately for Romanov, she’d been taught everything the Winter Soldier knew. Nyssa had been taught nearly everything the Demon Head knew, which was a lot more.

“Ms. Romanov, if you’re ready?” Victoria Hand said to start the evaluation. Natasha walked over to her, and Nyssa came over as well. “For your evaluation, you’ll be sparring against Ms. Raatako here. You both already know about the no weapons rule. We’re trying to judge your skills, so no cheap shots because they don’t tell us anything. Either of you can tap out at any time and then the test’s over. Questions?”

“What happens if neither of us taps out?” Natasha asked.

“Then, the trainers will call it.” Hand responded. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Natasha and Nyssa each looked the other one over for any apparent weak spots or tells. After a few moments, without warning, Natasha made the first move. She swung a fist at Nyssa, which she caught. Using that momentum, Natasha took a jab at her opponent’s ribs with the other arm. Nyssa retaliated by forcing Natasha’s dominant arm behind her back and using the momentum to flip her over. She took a step away, and raised an eyebrow at her.

Natasha got to her feet and took up a different fighting stance.  This time, Nyssa struck first. Her swing was blocked, as she predicted, allowing her to aim a knee at Natasha’s abdomen. She followed that up with a second swing. The next few minutes were somewhat repetitive. Natasha swung, Nyssa blocked. She swung again, and Nyssa blocked again. The redhead started to appear tired, but Nyssa doubted that were true. She was proven right, when Nyssa ‘fell’ for her feigning right, only to strike her left side. Natasha’s victory was short-lived however, because seconds after Natasha’s ruse worked, she caught an elbow to the face. The dark-haired woman heard someone shout in surprise, but no one stepped into stop the fight. The redhead staggered backwards slightly, giving Nyssa enough space to aim a kick at her. It hit her directly in the ribs and several observers winced. Nyssa had a very powerful kick.

“Would you like to yield?” Nyssa asked, knowing it would provoke her.

“Not a chance.” She responded before moving towards her, setting up a head scissor takedown, her signature move.

Too bad Nyssa saw it coming. She swept a leg out at the last moment, knocking Natasha off balance and onto the floor. When she got back up, Natasha was favoring one side. Unlike before, Nyssa could tell this wasn’t a trick of some kind. Aiming another kick, this one slightly less powerful, Nyssa struck her bad side. Romanov went down again. A few seconds later, Natasha rolled onto her back and hit the mat twice, surrendering. Nyssa wasn’t even out of breath.

Clint and another person ran over to help her up.

“What the-? How the-?” Several agents could be heard saying as Nyssa walked away.

“I guess the Black Widow isn’t as great as we thought.” Another said.

“Impressive.” Bucky said as Nyssa reached where he, Sara and Felicity were.

“You were right. She is not very unique.” She responded.

Steve, meanwhile, had stormed over to Victoria demanding an explanation. “What the hell was that?”

“Romanov’s evaluation.”

“You let that woman kick the crap out of her.”

“No, I pit two skilled fighters against one another. It’s true, I expected Romanov to perform better than she did, but either way, her skills have been assessed.” Hand replied. “I suggest you prepare for your own assessment.”

“Am I gonna get my ass kicked too?” Steve asked rhetorically. It was clear to him now that these tests were designed so that his team would fail. “This is ridiculous. Do you think you can just bully us because-?”

“Rogers. Do us all a favor and shut the fuck up.” Jessica Jones said. “Why’s it every time things don’t go your way, it has to be bullying? She lost, because the other one’s a better fighter, end of story.”

“Your evaluation isn’t the same as hers, since you both have different strengths and weaknesses. You’ll be evaluated on some hand-to-hand combat, but not at the same level.” Hand told him.

“Can we just get mine over with, then?” Steve asked.

“Certainly.”

Steve’s evaluation had three parts: strength, agility/reflexes and fighting skill. For the first part, he was tasked with punching /kicking dummies with sensors in them. the sensors registered how much force was behind each hit. Overall, the first part wasn’t very exciting.

The second part was why Barry was there. He was tasked with testing how good Steve’s reflexes and agility were. Steve Rogers might have enhanced stamina, but Barry had superspeed. If anyone could push Steve’s agility and reaction time to the limit, it was a speedster. Spiderman and a few agents also took part in this test. The agents by trying to shoot him with paintballs. Peter by pitting his reflexes, spidey-sense and all, against Steve’s.

The third part was sparring, like Natasha’s had been. His wasn’t going to be anywhere near as intense as hers though. Steve had some hand-to-hand skills, but he mostly relied on his strength to win. He knew some moves, but very few considered him an expert fighter. He was more of a brawler than a martial artist. Unlike Natasha, he’d fight three people, one-on-one, each for a set amount of time.

Hand called up his first opponent.

“Wait, I’m not doing this.” He said.

“Why not?”

“Because, she- I won’t hit a woman.”

Sara pulled her arm back and punched him right in the face. “Too bad, because I’ll hit you.”

“Ms. Lance, please.” Hand said. “You do realize you may need to fight women in the field, correct?”

“Yes, but given the choice, I’d prefer not to in training.”

“Very well. Lance, you can go. Slade!”

Slade Wilson stepped into the training area and was ready to fight. It would’ve been more impressive if he still had super strength, but he fought well as is. A few minutes later, Slade was called out and Daredevil went in. After that, it was Iron Fist’s turn. Overall, Steve did okay. His technique definitely needed work.

The assessment ended and everyone went their separate ways. Steve caught up with his teammates back in their common room. Natasha had two broken ribs, a few sprains and several bruises.

“Told you it was a trap.” Clint gloated as they sat there in shock.

“It wasn’t a trap. We simply….overestimated a few things when we planned these assessments.” Hand said as she came into the room. “Congratulations. You’ve all passed your physical evaluations. Pass your psych evals and you’ll be cleared for the field.”

“What happens if we fail the psych?” Steve asked.

“You’ll need to see a psychologist until you’re cleared. Until then, you’d be on restricted field duty. Which is another way of saying you won’t be allowed to take on any dangerous assignments.”

* * *

 

**Felicity’s Lab**

After the evaluations were done, Felicity went back to her lab. She opened the door to find several stacks of books covering her workstation and a very excited Tony Stark there waiting.

“So, this is everything I have on cosmic objects. That stack is mostly conjecture, but it mentions some cosmic beings. The other stack is everything I know about the Infinity Stones. Let’s get started.”

“Don’t you have other work to do?”

“Probably. But let’s be honest, learning about space stuff is way cooler than anything else I’m working on.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> To clarify, I think Natasha's a better spy than she is a fighter. I don't think she's a bad fighter, I just think that's not what she should be known for. Her combat skills are secondary to her espionage skills. And I think someone like Nyssa, who's a warrior before anything else, would be able to beat her. She also has an advantage since her fighting style isn't known to anyone outside the League.


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies are said, steps in the right direction are made and attempts to reconcile start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've been very mean to Team Cap recently, probably meaner than I intended. That's gonna stop. I don't know how well it came across, but it had a purpose. They came back and expected things to be the same and expecting other things to play out a certain way. By this point, they've begun to realize that course of action isn't gonna work.

**Felicity’s Lab**

“Let’s be honest, learning about space stuff is way cooler than anything else I’m working on.” Tony said to Felicity as he started reading through the stack of papers. Shrugging, Felicity started to do the same. About an hour later, the blonde let out a sigh of frustration.

“I know you’re trying to help, but most of this is-“

“Completely useless. Yeah, I was starting to realize that myself. Unless you’re an actually Infinity Stone, which no offense, but I seriously doubt, the rest is just…..guesswork.”

“Either that, or it’s about some world-ending force of some kind. I mean, this entry is actually called ‘The Destroyer of Worlds’.” She said, holding up a book. “It doesn’t give good descriptions of anything. The World Killer, the Devourer of Worlds, the Phoenix Force, they all have enough in common with my powers to possibly be an answer, but they’re different enough so I can’t actually say ‘yep, this is how I became like this’.”

“Maybe you just aren’t in the book.” Tony said.

“Do you really believe that or are you just saying it?” Felicity asked, skeptical. 

“Umm, yeah, I’m just saying it. There’s gotta be some explanation somewhere. You remember anything else about your past lives?”

“I remember all of them. None of what I remember really stands out as ‘cosmic power source’ related.”  _Except for that one thing Shoshannah's mother said to her once. If only I could talk to her now._

* * *

 

**West Wing Common Room**

A few hours after the evaluations were over, Bucky came into the west wing. Steve was the only person in the common room, which made him feel a little better. He was bad with words as is, he didn’t want an audience.

“Hey Buck.”

“Hey.” The brunette shifted his weight for a few moments while he thought of how he wanted to say what he came to say.

“So, about a few days ago, I- I’m sorry.” Steve said. “Everyone’s told me you aren’t the same as during the war, and I mean, everyone. I just- I didn’t want to believe it. I’m starting to see now, that it might’ve made things easier for me, but not you.”

“I need to apologize too. When we were talking in the cafeteria, I could’ve said things better. It’s- I reached my limit of people saying they understand months ago. It always makes me feel like they’re minimizing what I went through. So, when you started saying how you knew how I felt, I lost my cool. I was also still so angry about what happened over the previous few days and worried about Felicity that I just- there was a right and wrong way to deal with how I was feeling, and that was the wrong way.”

“I should probably apologize to her too.” Steve said. “I didn’t mean to imply she was using you, it’s just- I thought I could trust SHIELD, and I was wrong. I thought I could trust Tony, and I was wrong. It seemed like more of the same. She didn’t exactly give off a nice-person vibe, either.”

“She was pissed about Slade Wilson and Wanda being there. It bled over into that meeting.” Bucky said. “I’ll give you the SHIELD one. But Stark, I don’t see how you were wrong.”

“He tried to kill you.”

“I’ve seen footage of that armor. If he wanted me dead, I’d be dead. He just saw his parents die, he was standing in the same room as their killer. It might not have been my choice, but it was my hands.” Bucky explained. “Tensions were high as is and then he saw that. He lashed out. I should’ve just let him get it out. The next time he saw me, he didn’t even bother to glare.”

“Still, I should’ve tried to keep an open mind. And not confronted her yesterday like we did.” Steve said.

“I actually wanted to talk to all of you about that. Your team, I mean.” Felicity said, walking into the room. “And the evaluations. If they’re up for it.”

Steve gave her a wary look before grabbing the others. Soon enough, everyone was sitting around the common room.

“So, what’s this about?” Sam asked.

“A few things. What happened in the hallway the other day, the evaluations, and so on.” Felicity said.

“Is this a lecture, a rant or something else?”

“Something else. Let’s start with what happened in the hallway. Mr. Barton, I’m not trying to be a bitch by not telling you where your family is. I’m doing the only thing I’ve got the power to do in this situation.  And that’s to tell you that I can’t tell you anything. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did to you. Which brings me to the second thing: what I said to you, Ms. Romanov. Specifically about the hospital fire.”

“I regret what happened, the children’s ward. Everyone keeps bringing it up and acting like I’m proud of it.” Natasha cut in.

“I know you do, which is why I know saying what I said was a hit below the belt. And I’d like to apologize for that. What I said about the fire and most of what I said after.”

“Why did you then?”

“I felt like I was being ambushed, so I lashed out. And the day before yesterday was the one year anniversary of Havenrock. So the very intense guilt was fresh. That doesn’t excuse what I said though.” The blonde said. “I am somewhat annoyed though, that you either didn’t know or didn’t care about the fallout from DC. Exposing Hydra was a good thing, no one’s debating that, but doing that had some not-so-good outcomes.”

“You tried to help them, didn’t you? The undercover SHIELD agents who got burned.” Natasha said.

Felicity didn’t respond to the question.  “We need to discuss the evaluations. I didn’t know Nyssa was gonna go that far. We suggested her because you two have similar skill levels. No one thought she was gonna take it where she did.”

The blonde thought Nyssa would win the fight. However, she didn't think Nyssa would just straight up attack Natasha. There were at least three points during their match when Nyssa should've just kept Natasha in a hold until she surrendered, but instead kept the fight going as an excuse to keep hitting her. No one expected anyone to suffered broken bones as a result of a training exercise. One of the trainers should've stepped in, and several people were angry that they didn't.

“Why does she dislike me so much?”

“And why did Sara Lance punch me for no reason?” Steve asked.

“I don’t completely know why she dislikes you, but some of it has nothing to do with you. Some of it is because she got tired of being compared to you. Sara is…well, it’s a complicated explanation but she didn’t really have anything against you. It related back to something else."

Nyssa had been raised hearing that she wasn't good enough, no matter what she did. Natasha's reputation alone was enough for Nyssa to want to best her. Other things Natasha had done made Nyssa want to teach her a lesson. Sara had punched Slade in the face when he had Mirakuru. She punched Bucky when the Soldier made an unexpected appearance. Punching Steve meant she had a full set of ‘supersoldiers I’ve punched in the face’.

“So, that’s kinda all I wanted to say.” Felicity finished awkwardly. “I’m gonna go.”

“Wait. I shouldn’t have accused you of using Bucky. Or defended Wanda when she clearly wasn’t blameless.” Several scoffs and mutters followed that. “I’m sorry.”

“I wasn’t mad that you defended her. You thought she was your friend, et cetera. I was pissed at the way you did it. You might not have been aware of it, but your argument always circled around to either ‘she’s a kid who doesn’t know better’ or ‘this is a misunderstanding’. At no point did anything close to ‘she’s sorry’ enter into the mix.”

“Where do we go from here?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll try to be more neutral towards you. You’ll need to try and show you want to cooperate with everyone else. I can’t answer for the others, but I think acting like you want to make amends instead of just saying it would go a long way.” Felicity said before turning to Bucky. “I’ll see you later.”

Natasha, Clint and Sam all dispersed. They’d spent the last few hours thinking about everything that had happened since they returned. Maybe they were going about things the wrong way.

“Can I ask you something? Are we still friends?” Steve asked.

“Yeah. We’re still friends.” Bucky answered in an ‘are you serious’ tone. “We’ve just both got some stuff to work on.”

* * *

 

**Compound Gym**

Sam was doing some weight-lifting when he saw someone come into the gym out of the corner of his eye. This was the first time he’d seen Rhodes alone since the Rogues came back to the Compound. After debating for a few seconds, he went over to the colonel.

“Need a spotter?”

“Wilson, if you came over here to apologize or explain-“

“Not unless you want to talk about it. I’m good just spotting you in silence.” Sam said, holding his hands up in surrender.

They spent most of the next hour in silence. Towards the end, Rhodes initiated small-talk with the other man. He didn't want to make it seem like he was pretending Sam wasn't there, but he also didn't want to talk about anything serious. Sam took it as a step, a tiny one but still a step, in the right direction.

* * *

 

**Dr. Brown’s Office**

The therapist remained in his seat as his visitor continued to speak. When the man finished, Dr. Brown spoke. “I understand, Mr. Barton. Now, before we begin, there’s two questions I ask all my patients. What are you hoping to get out of our sessions and why have you decided to seek out treatment?”

“I wanna be able to see my kids. My ex-wife doesn’t think I’m at a good place mentally for that. She’s probably right about that. More than that, I see the way everyone looks at me, like I’m seconds away from blowing up at them. Maybe it’s time for my unresolved issues to get resolved.” Clint said as he sat down on the couch.

* * *

 

**East Wing**

Later that day, Felicity was sitting in her lab, absent-mindedly spinning a pen between her fingers. "What's with the face?" Bucky asked.

"I need to talk to my mother."

"So call her." He said, not seeing the problem.

"By 'my mother', I mean Shoshannah's mother. She- I had to have my powers then. It's the only way this cycle started. If anyone back then would know, wouldn't it have been my mom?"

"Why would she have known something?"

"Because of what she said right before the Romans attacked my village."

* * *

 

**Hallway**

Tony, Hope and Vision were walking down the hallway in the middle of explaining what Star Wars was to Vision when a voice called out to them.

“Hey Tony. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a sec?”

Tony wasn’t quite sure how to answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, thing's are slowly edging towards the 'let's be friends' side of the spectrum. Who do you think wants to talk to Tony? What did Shoshannah's mother know?
> 
> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Tony talk, it's awkward but a little productive. Also, we find out a few more details about Shoshannah's life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!
> 
> So, this story is about Bucky/Felicity being reincarnated soulmates. 
> 
> Unfortunately, in order to tell later parts of the story, I had to take a detour into the land of 'The Rogues come back and the Avengers need to reconcile'. There will be tidbits of the team slowly getting back to a better place over the next several chapters, but this chapter is the last one where that subplot is at the forefront.
> 
> I didn't want to have everyone be frenemies forever, nor did I want to just be like 'with no real explanation, everything went exactly back to the way it was before Civil War'. It's gonna be a slow process but just assume they're all working towards it.

**Hallway**

Tony, Hope and Vision were walking down the hallway in the middle of explaining what Star Wars was to Vision when a voice called out to them.

“Hey Tony. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a sec?”

Tony wasn’t quite sure how to answer. On the one hand, he wasn’t in the right mindset to talk to Steve right now. On the other, the longer he put this conversation off, the more he was going to dread it. the mechanic decided to bite the bullet already. Vision and Hope stayed next to him, which he was thankful for.

“It kinda depends. What do you wanna talk about?”

“What happened back in July.”

“Then, no. I don’t wanna rehash that argument today.” Tony had already said everything he was going to say about why he supported the Accords and tried to get Steve to see the need for a compromise. If this was about his parents and Bucky, Tony didn’t know if he’d ever be ready to talk about it with Steve.

“Ok then.” Steve said, surprising Tony. He didn’t think Steve would give up on this conversation that easily. Steve, for his part, was trying to keep the conversation alive, but also limited to topics Tony seemed comfortable with. “Do you know where Agent Drake’s office is?”

“One floor up, and at the end of the hall. Why?” He asked.

“There are a few things in the Accords and compound rules that I don’t really understand.” To emphasize his point, Steve held up the thick binder he was holding. Felicity made a good point about showing that he wanted to fix things, and not just saying he did. He figured a good place to start was to understand the Accords and demonstrate that he was trying to abide by them.

“Things like what?” Tony asked.

“I got lost in some of the legal jargon so I don’t know what some of the rules and regulations actually say. For others, I’m trying to understand the purpose.”

“Drake’s not a lawyer, so she wouldn’t be able to help you with most of that. Foggy and Murdock aren’t here, Joanna had to go to Star City and Marci’s in court. But, Jennifer probably could help you.” Hope told him.

“Thanks. Where can I find her?” Steve didn’t really remember who Jennifer was. He’d met a lot of people over the last few days and matching names to faces was harder than he expected.

“FRIDAY, can you ask Jennifer to meet us in the 2nd floor north conference room?” Tony asked. The AI responded affirmatively. He then gestured to Steve. “Come on.”

 “You, um, I can just wait in there alone. Not that I don’t want the company, but-.”

“It’s not that. She can help you with the lawyer talk, but she doesn’t know all the reasons behind the rules for the Compound.” Tony said as he sat a few seats away from Steve.

“Oh.” The room fell into silence. A few moments later, Steve spoke again. “Tony, I’m sorry.”

“I said I didn’t wanna talk about last July.”

The truth about Tony's parents and the 'Civil War' weren't the only things Steve realized he should probably apologize for. “That’s not what I’m apologizing for right now. I should’ve had more trust in you during the whole Ultron thing, and shouldn’t have pushed you away afterwards. And when we were discussing the Accords, but that’s something you don’t want to talk about.”

“We didn’t discuss the Accords.” Tony remarked somewhat bitter. “I tried, but you were- you made your choice, picked your stance on them and didn’t want to hear anything that challenged it.”

“I didn’t trust Ross. I didn’t trust the UN and I didn’t understand why you were trusting them.”

“The UN’s only agenda is to try and preserve global peace. As for Ross, I didn’t trust him either. He’s in prison for human right’s violations right now for god’s sake. But the world wanted accountability. And working with the UN meant we got to have input in how the Accords are worded and updated. Having to work with Ross was an unfortunate side effect of that.”

“Hey, I heard you had some questions about the Accords and the Compound’s rules?” Jennifer asked as she walked into the room, effectively ending the conversation. “Oh, hi Tony.”

“Uh, yeah. I’m kinda getting lost in some of the legal mumbo-jumbo.” Steve admitted as he flipped to a certain page. “Like this ‘Identity Protection Clause’. I don’t know what it means.”

“Basically, it says any individual who’s identity isn’t public knowledge, for example Spiderman or The Flash, can sign and operate within the Accords using their alias. The only requirement is that someone Level Nine or Ten knows their identity, verifies it and vouches for them. It doesn’t apply to you because the public knows Steve Rogers is Captain America.”

“And this amendment?” He pointed to another section.

“This one and the next one are about missions. The first one talks about volunteering for a mission and how that process works. Basically, the Task Force considers your skills, and what the mission entails to decide if it’s a good fit. The second one covers if you’re assigned a mission and you wish to refuse it. You’d just need to put the reason why you’re turning it down in writing. For example, let’s say you’re allergic to bees and we come across a person who uses bees as minions to commit crimes. All you’d need to do is write down ‘I’m turning down this mission because I have a fatal bee allergy’ and give it to someone like Agent Hand.”

“That makes sense.” Steve said. He and Jennifer spent the next few hours going over everything.

* * *

 

**East Wing**

"By 'my mother', I mean Shoshannah's mother. She- I had to have my powers then. It's the only way this cycle started. If anyone back then would know, wouldn't it have been my mom?"

"Why would she have known something?" Bucky asked.

"Because of what she said right before the Romans attacked my village." Felicity admitted. “At the time, and for a long time after, it didn’t make any sense. And Mother was never subtle about what she meant. It drove me mad half the time.”

“You know, this is the first time, ever, I’ve heard you mention her. All you ever told me back then was that you’d gotten separated from your family when the Romans took you. I told you about my village, my family, but you didn’t do the same.”

It was quiet for several moments. Then, Felicity spoke. “It hurt too much. When you-Jacob was dying, he told Shoshannah to go escape and be free. That she should go home, and she didn’t even consider doing that. I’ve never, in the following two thousand years, told you why she didn’t even consider escaping and stayed to die with him.  She didn’t have somewhere to go back to. And she was the only person from her village that made it to Rome alive.” When Felicity closed her eyes, she could still see them all dying. “I wasn’t just the last living member of my family. I was the last of my people.”

“I-.”

“You were so motivated to win your freedom, and bring your family back together. I was just trying not to lose everything I loved a second time.”

“That’s what you meant, about there being ‘no life’ without me.” Bucky said.

They fell into silence again.

“There has to be a ritual or spell of some kind. One that will let you speak with her.”

“Yeah, I’m trying to find one. One exists, it has to. I mean, if there’s a spell to pull Sara’s soul back from the afterlife or one to cross into another dimension of reality, there’s gotta be a ‘talk to the dead’ spell. Might need to talk to Strange or Constantine.” Felicity remarked

“What did she say anyway?” Bucky wondered.

“She asked me why I chose to be born ‘in this time and place’.” Felicity said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> What do you think that question means? What do you think happened to Shoshannah's family (as in, how do you think they died)? What do you think her mother knew?


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story of Shoshannah's life is told.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter covers important things from the day Shoshannah was born through the day she died. It's told mostly from her mother's perspective.
> 
> It's important for you to know this information now, otherwise next chapter won't make much sense.

**99 BC**

Cassandra held her child tighter as she looked up at the sky. The sun had returned to its usual place in the sky but the other villagers were still wary of what happened. She tried to focus only on the child in her arms as the others argued around her.

“It was a sign, an omen, of bad things to come.” One man yelled.

“No, it is a blessed sign. One of renewal and rebirth.” Another yelled.

The two groups of villagers continued shouting back and forth. Cassandra’s newborn child, Shoshannah, didn’t even stir at the noise. Eventually, Cassandra excused herself to return to her home. Childbirth was an exhausting task after all.

Sometime later, her lover returned home as well. “What did you see?”

“I do not know what you are referring to.” Cassandra replied.

“When your sister placed the girl into your arms, you saw something. What did you see?” He’d known for a while that his lover had a gift. She could sometimes see into a person’s future or true nature if she touched them. She’d begged him not to tell anyone else, and until now, hadn’t even mentioned it. “They are outside, at this moment, arguing about what her birth means.”

“More than any of us will ever understand.” She told him.

“So, she is like you then?” By that, he meant she had a gift like her mother.

“No, not like me. I can find no words to explain it, but she is something far more powerful than I could ever be. And not entirely of this world.”

“She was sent from the gods?”

“From the stars. Come to earth for reasons I do not know.”

“What exactly did you see?” He asked, concerned.

“Shoshannah is….great and terrible things await her. When we are gone and our bones turned to dust, she will remain. The last of our people.”

“How do you know this?”

“I have seen it. We die, and she is the only one who remembers us. She is beyond life and death, and this being, this power, has chosen here and now to be born.”

* * *

 

**84 BC**

The sound of laughter could be heard as Shoshannah chased her siblings through the meadow around their home. The harvest had just ended, so the children had more free time than usual. From the house, her parents stood in the entryway.

“Have you told her?” her father asked her mother.

“No. And I do not intend to.”

“She grows stronger everyday.”

“Yet, her gift remains in her control. No one suspects she is anything other than ordinary, including her. She can sense she is different from her siblings already. I will not add to that feel being telling her the reason behind it.”

“One day you will have to tell her.” He pointed out. “And you will regret not doing so sooner.” He walked away.

“No, I will not live to tell her.” She whispered.

* * *

 

**76 BC**

The village was eerily quiet one morning. Everyone was out and about, yet a sense of foreboding filled everyone. Suddenly, the faint sound of hoofbeats could be heard from the forest to the west of the village.

“Romans.” Cassandra said. “They are here.”

Everyone panicked. Men ran to fetch whatever weapons they could find. Women scurried to hide their children from the incoming confrontation. Many wondered if this was the last time they’d see their families.

“Mother, Mother!” Shoshannah yelled when she didn’t respond. “I hid the others. What do I do?”

“Why?” she asked her daughter.

“Why what?”

“Why did you choose to be born in this time and in this place? You are gifted beyond words yet you chose to live in a time like this.”

“I- I have no idea what you mean.”

Before Cassandra could reply, Shoshannah’s father ushered her away and told his daughter to hide with the others. The next few hours were a blur. By the time the smoke cleared and the Romans found where Shoshannah was, half the village, including Cassandra, was dead. Everyone else was being herded away.

They were taken to the nearest port city and placed on a ship bound for Rome. By this point, everyone knew what was going to happen.  Shoshannah’s father waited as long as he could before speaking.

“You could have stopped this.”

“How?”

“You have a gift most would kill for, yet your mother never told you. She insisted on lying to you, even into adulthood. She wanted you to feel ordinary, to be ordinary. Her choices have killed us.”

“What gifts could I have?”

“She never elaborated. But if she had told you, this wouldn’t have happened. This is all your fault.” He said bitterly. He lost his wife and two children during the attack. Now he was being shipped to Rome to be sold as a slave. There was nothing else for him to lose.

“We should have killed you as a child.” A villager said.

“You cursed us.” Another yelled. Then, everyone started shouting that it was her fault. Quickly, Shoshannah grew scared and angry.

“I didn’t- I couldn’t- stop. Just stop! It’s not my fault!” She shouted. She felt _something_ in her body awaken and push outwards. She watched with widened eyes as everyone who was shouting started to choke. Minutes later, they were dead.

The Romans came down in the hull later and found only a tenth of the people they captured still alive. They chalked it up to injuries or illnesses. Only a handful now remained. Two were killed at the next port for attempting to flee. One jumped into the ocean and drowned. The remaining villagers started to get sick. The last one succumbed to the disease as the ship reached Rome. Every person Shoshannah had ever known was now gone.

The next few hours went by in a haze. She was taken off the ship and ordered to clean herself up. From there, she was taken to the auction block and sold. They branded her, which she was too numb to even flinch at. Over the next few days, girls who had been there longer walked her through how to fulfill her duties, which she did robotically. On her fourth day there, she was bringing water in for the domina’s bath when she collided with someone.

“My apologies.” She said, not looking up.

“I ran into you. I should be the one offering apologies.” A male voice responded. She looked up and saw a man a year or two older than her. “I am Jacob.”

“Shoshannah.” She replied.

Roza, another slave, came into the courtyard to see what the delay was. “The domina is waiting!”

“Apologies.” She said as she hurried back to what she was doing. Jacob watched after her for a few moments.

“I would not get too attached to Jacob.”

“I just met him.” She told Roza. “Why do you say that?”

“He is a gladiator. Few of them live very long. The ones that do typically gain their freedom and leave this place and everyone in it far behind. Daydreaming is nice, but a dangerous thing for slaves like us.”

Three years later, nearly to the day, Sextus stabbed Jacob killing him. Seconds later, Shoshannah took her own life.

Somewhere in the afterlife, Cassandra frowned. This wasn’t what she had seen years ago at Shoshannah's birth. This, Shoshannah's suicide to be with Jacob, it wasn't supposed to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> What do you think was happening with the sky when Shoshannah was born?  
> What do you think that last part means for the story?  
> How truthful do you think Cassandra will be?  
> What do you think about what happened to the other villagers?
> 
> As an aside, I'm not gonna delve into the source of Cassandra's powers. Other than the vision she had about Shoshannah(Felicity), they're irrelevant to the rest of the story.


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity tells her version of what happened to Shoshannah's people, and Constantine makes an appearance.

**Compound-Present**

“Your mother asked you why you chose to be born?” Bucky asked skeptically. “What answer was she expecting?”

Felicity kept fidgeting with pen in her hands and didn’t look at him. “I don’t know. She….I don’t wanna say she was a mutant, but she had….abilities. She knew my whole life that I had powers too. She couldn’t explain anything about them, so she never told me.”

“How do you know this, if she never told you?”

“Because my father told me. After the Romans attacked, and my whole village was put on a slave ship for Rome. He said what happened was my fault, that I could’ve stopped it from happening, but didn’t. Then, he let it slip that my mother had known, and kept the truth from me so I’d feel ‘normal’.” Felicity said, still not looking at him. “Then, most of the others started yelling about how it was my fault, they should’ve killed me as a child, so on, and I was so angry and confused and frustrated, and I just wanted them to stop so-.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. I yelled at them to just stop. I felt something weird happen in my body, and then everyone yelling started choking on nothing. Minutes later, they were dead. Only about two dozen of us were left. Two were killed trying to escape. One drowned. The others all started getting sick and died. I killed them. All of them. Everyone I knew, they’re all-”

“You didn’t kill them.”

“Yes, I did. How else do you explain it? I lashed out and my powers killed everyone I’d ever met. And you wanna know what’s worse? My village has been completely forgotten. It’s not mentioned in any historical record, not even in passing. Whole generations lived and died in that village. They had a culture and traditions and stories and I’m the only one who knows any of it. The person who wiped them out. Thrace, Gaul, the Germanic tribes, they aren’t still around, but they’re remembered. But the Verimas, it’s like they never even existed, except in my memory.”

Bucky didn’t say it, because it would’ve been irrelevant, but this was the first time Felicity, or any version of her, called the tribe by their name and not just ‘her people’ or ‘her village’. He took a few steps towards her. “You were traumatized and terrified. No one would’ve been able to control themselves in that situation. What happened to your people was a tragedy, but it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t cause the Romans to attack.”

“Can we just agree to disagree on this one?” she asked wearily.

“No, you’ve been holding on to this for years. It’s not your fault. Say it.” He insisted.

“It’s not my fault.” She muttered.

“What? I didn’t hear that.”

“It’s not my fault.”

“Say it like you mean it.”

“It’s not my fault.” Felicity said. “Ok. Let’s go get food.”

“You know, food isn’t the answer for everything.” Bucky pointed out.

“How dare you say such blasphemy! Eating is the answer to almost every emotional problem I’ve ever faced.” Felicity yelled in a mock-angry voice. “The other ones were solved by hacking.”

“Well then, let’s get you some junk food before you blow up the internet.” Bucky said, leading her out of the lab.

“I wouldn’t do that. My dad almost did that once, and he kinda sucks so….”

“Your dad tried to blow up the internet?”

“No, he tried to blow up a building. The stuff he used just could’ve also blown up the internet.” She elaborated. “Then he tried to steal tech from my company, so Quentin arrested him. Bottom line, my dad is kinda the worst.”

“Yeah, I picked up on that a while ago.”

* * *

 

**Next Day**

The Compound residents were in the middle of a meeting the following afternoon when there was a knock on the door. Then, an annoyed looking agent scurried into the room.

“Sorry to interrupt, ladies and gentlemen. It’s just- Ms. Smoak, you have visitors.”

Felicity looked between the agent and the other people in the room. “Um, have them wait in my office.”

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea. He’s being rather-.”

“I told you, she’s the one who asked me to get here at this ungodly hour.” A very distinct British voice said as he stepped around the agent. “Now, what help do you need from me, love?”

“Constantine, when I left you that voicemail, I just wanted you to call me back.” Felicity said.

“I’m here now, so let’s get on with it, shall we?” he argued back.

“Fine, I need to speak to the dead.”

“You called me here for a bloody séance?” The Brit asked.

“No, I need to ask Shoshannah’s mother a few questions. She’s been dead since 76BC, so I’m low on options.”

“Don’t you mean ‘your mother’? You’re a reincarnation of Shoshannah, so her mother is also your mother.”

Steve, Sam, Clint, and Natasha all looked to the others for an explanation, which they didn’t get.

“You know what I meant. I refer to her as Shoshannah’s mother so people don’t get her confused with the woman who gave birth to me in 1989. Is there a ritual or something that let’s me communicate with her?”

“Yeah, I’ll email it to you. What do you want to know anyways?”

“It’s not super important.” She answered dismissively.

“But important enough to perform a ritual to get answers.” He countered. “You are quite the enigma, Ms. Smoak.” He left the room.

The second he left, Team Cap started asking questions.

“Was he for real? If not, what’s he smoking?”

“You can’t really be a reincarnation. That’s not a thing.”

“Wait, is that what your powers are?”

“Yes, he’s for real. Reincarnation is a thing, and I’ve been reincarnated multiple times but I’m not getting into that now. There are others. My powers don’t really have a lot to do with it. None of this has anything to do with what we’re talking about.”

“You can’t just drop a bomb like ‘I’m a reincarnation’ on everyone and expect us to just move on.” Sam said.

“Most of us already knew.” Hope said. “We had a few months to wrap our heads around the whole thing.”

“Can we get back on track please?” Victoria Hand asked. “Reincarnation has nothing to do with training area safety protocols, last time I checked. You all can satisfy your curiosity later.”

 When the meeting ended, Felicity rushed out of the room and teleported across the compound as soon as she could. Being pestered with questions about her past lives, and deaths, wasn’t something she wanted to deal with right now. She also guessed at least one member of Team Cap would ask her to ‘prove it’, which was, of course, ridiculous.

“That was quite the disappearing act you pulled.” Bucky said after he found her in their room.

“What are the first few things people ask or say when they find out the truth? Prove it. Did you meet so-and-so. How did you die. I wasn’t in the mood to answer any of those. Besides, Constantine finally sent me the instructions and I wanna get this over with.”

The ritual was straightforward enough to set up. It called for a circle of salt, several candles and the something belonging to the deceased. Luckily, during an earlier trip to the past, Felicity had stolen a bracelet of Cassandra’s.

She repeated the incantation a few times before turning to Bucky and said, “I don’t think this is working.” The brunette didn’t answer, staring at something behind her. “What are you- holy shit.”

“Hello Shoshannah. Sorry, you go by Felicity now.” Cassandra said. “It has been a long time, my child. I understand you have questions for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	47. Chapter 47

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity talks to Shoshannah's mother, and it's both more helpful and way less helpful than she hoped. It turns out there's a pattern with her births. Felicity's healing is also discussed and debated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a LONG chapter. A lot of stuff happens. Please read the end notes, where some things will be explained.
> 
> Side note- I'm assuming that after the shooting Darhk ordered, Felicity had a complete spinal cord injury.

**Felicity & Bucky’s Room**

“Hello Shoshannah. Sorry, you go by Felicity now.” Cassandra said. “It has been a long time, my child. I understand you have questions for me.”

“Yeah.” Felicity scoffed. “You could certainly say that.”

“You are angry, I am not surprised. Then again, I am rather upset with you as well.”

“You’re mad at me? You lied to me my whole life, and then died before telling me anything. You don’t get to be mad at me.” Felicity said, raising her voice.

“You were supposed to cause the fall of Rome. Instead, you died to be with him.” Cassandra gestured to Bucky. “Our people’s deaths, and thousands of others, were in vain. All because you two fell in love!”

Jacob was something the universe hadn’t accounted for when the events of Shoshannah’s life were set in motion. Her birth, the attack by the Romans, being the only survivor, those were all predestined events. Fate brought Shoshannah to Rome. Then, something happened that fate didn’t intend: she met Jacob and they fell in love. Then, he died, and as she went to join him, she changed reality itself. She made it so that finding him in the next life was the only way she’d remember who she was or what she could do. The timeline was thrown off course and the universe had to find a way to compensate. Jacob, the gladiator from Thrace, had single-handedly changed not only Shoshannah’s future, but the entire course of Earth’s history after 76BC.

“I’m not gonna apologize for finding something worth living for after everyone I knew blamed me for their problems and died.” She spat out. “You wanna blame me for what happened, look in a damn mirror first. You left me in the dark and expected me to just know what to do.”

“I think we’re getting off topic.” Bucky said.

“So, love, did you-?” Constantine started to ask as he came into her office. Then, he saw what was going on. “I take it the ritual worked then.”

“Yeah.” Felicity said before turning back to Cassandra. “What am I?”

“In truth, I have no idea.”

“But you knew I was something.”

“Yes, I had a gift. When I touched someone, I could see their future and read their aura, as you might call it. When you were placed into my arms as a newborn, I saw something….unusual.”

“What did you see?”

“I cannot put most of what I saw into words. It was like watching everything happen at once. I saw you living throughout time and space. Witnessed events I couldn’t fathom and watched as you lived through them all. All I knew was that you were powerful, and you were not from this world.”

“What happened when I was born?” Felicity asked. “Some of the others said my birth was a bad omen. Why would they think that?”

“The moment I went into labor, the moon began to block out the sun. This….phenomenon only ended after you were out of my womb.”

“A solar eclipse. They thought I was an evil demon who cursed them because of an eclipse?”

“Very little was known about the cosmos in that era.” Cassandra justified. “And a millennium later, villagers burned you alive due to similar superstitions.”

“What did you mean?” Bucky asked after the conversation reached a lull. “Why did you ask her why she chose to be born?”

“Because I saw the moment this…being chose Shoshannah as its host. Everyone in the village was looking to the skies, I was not. The moment you were born, the room filled with a blinding white light. When it faded, the sky had returned to normal and my sister placed you into my arms. Then, I had the vision of your future I’ve already explained.” Cassandra said. “I have no other answers, but I doubt your birth, the eclipse and this being coming to earth were entirely coincidental.”

“So, what? This being made you get pregnant so you’d give birth during the eclipse?” Constantine asked skeptically.

“Do you have a better explanation?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Felicity asked. “You had twenty-three years to tell me about my powers, about what I really was. Why didn’t you?” Cassandra just stared blankly at Felicity. “Are you fracking kidding me? You kept all of this from me, and you didn’t even have a reason for it?”  

“I did what I believed to be right.” She said.

“But you don’t have a reason why you thought it was the right thing to do. Or at least, not one that you’ve told anyone.” Felicity responded. “I mean, why did you- you know what, no. I’ve spent too long holding on to this. Thanks for the few answers you waited two thousand years to give me. I did the best I could with what I knew at the time. You should’ve told me the truth. What happened to the village wasn’t my fault, Father can go fuck himself. Is there anything else you’ve deigned to let me know?”

“Wait! There’s something you need to know.” She said, sounding panicked. “The first thing I saw when I held you was the Heavens themselves explode into being. I believe whatever you are, that was the true moment of your birth. I hope you will somehow find that information useful. And Shoshannah?”

“What?”

“Despite my actions and what you may think, I did love you.”

“Just never enough to tell me the truth.” Felicity said. “Enjoy your afterlife.” She waved her hand and all the candles went out.

“So, that’s the answer to the mystery then.” Constantine remarked. “You’re a cosmic entity. And an old one at that. My work here is done.” He sauntered out of the room.

“Or Cassandra’s just full of crap.” Felicity remarked.

“I don’t think she was lying.” Bucky said. “Vague and not helpful, yes. But I don’t think she lied once.”

 “If everything she said is completely true, then I’m a cosmic entity, that’s nearly as old, if not as old, as the universe. One that chose Shoshannah for some reason two thousand years ago and keeps coming back every time I get reincarnated. Back at square one.”

“Not really. Now you know for sure it’s a cosmic entity. Before it was just speculation. We also know roughly how old this entity is. I’ve read a few of those books Stark’s been hoarding. There are only so many cosmic beings that are as old as the universe.”

“I haven’t been able to find an answer because I haven’t been able to rule anything out. Now, I might be able to do that. There’s also details about my first birth that I didn’t know.” She admitted.

“What about it?” He asked.

“I was born during a solar eclipse. What if 99BC wasn’t the only time I was born when one of those happened?”

“You think your birth causes them?”

“No, I mean solar eclipses happen all the time. I’m not saying my birth causes an eclipse, I’m wondering if eclipses have some connection my births.”

“How are you gonna test your eclipse theory?” Bucky asked.

“That’s easy. Mac and Gideon both have records of every solar and lunar eclipse from the 20th century BC up to now. A version of Gideon’s code exists independent of time in a place called the Vanishing Point. That version communicates with the version on the Waverider, which is how she determines what does and doesn’t affect the timeline. Anyway, she’s catalogued every eclipse that’s ever happened and uploaded that information into Mac’s memory.” Felicity explained. “All I need to do is ask.”

“I would be happy to help. However, I would suggest discussing today’s earlier revelations with your teammates first.” Mac told her. “I suspect the more you avoid them, the worse their questions will get.”

“Fair enough. You ready for this?” She asked Bucky.

“Ready when you are.” He didn’t want to admit it, but he was kinda happy the truth about him hadn’t come out yet.

* * *

 

**Common Room**

Felicity and Bucky could hear the argument going on in the common room from the other end of the hallway. From what they heard, the Rogues were demanding answers, which Tony and the New Avengers were refusing to give.

“I think we have a right to know.”

“She also has a right to privacy. And it is not our story to tell.” Vision countered.

“What would knowing do?” She heard Strange say. “You’re talking about events that happened centuries ago before anyone here was alive. What purpose does knowing who she used to be serve?”

“None, unless she was some ancient-timey supervillain.” Clint remarked.

“It’s more that we know nothing about her powers, other than she has powers. Yet, she knows all about our powers and abilities.” Steve said, trying to sound more reasonable.

“What do you wanna know?” Felicity asked as she leaned against the doorframe.

It was quiet as the group struggled for words. “How does it work, your reincarnation?”

“I don’t fully know.” She shrugged. “I die, my soul leaves my body, and when the time is right, I get reborn. It’s a mystery to me beyond that. To answer what’s probably one of the next questions, I mostly move things with my mind.” She lied. Telekinesis was her strongest power, but by no means was it her only power.

“How’d you die?”

“I’m not gonna answer that. First, because I’ve died several times, and second because I think it’s a rude question to ask someone. That’s incredibly personal and I don’t know you like that.”

The conversation died there and the group dispersed. Only Felicity, Bucky, Strange, and Tony stayed behind.

“How did talking to Mother Number One go?” Tony asked.

“It went better than I thought. She was vague, of course, but I did get some not-completely-useless answers.” Felicity answered. “I found out a little bit more about my first life. Speaking of which, Mac?”

“Yes Ms. Smoak?”

“I want you to cross reference the following dates and locations with your records of astronomical events.” Felicity said. “Norway, March 6th 965 AD. Southern France, October 2nd 1084.  Azerbaijan, January 1st 1386. London, January 6th 1920. Las Vegas, March 28th 1989.”

“What are all those dates?” Tony asked.

“I’ll explain in a second. Mac?”

“Those dates all correspond to solar eclipses, which I assume you predicted. Almost all were total eclipses, with the exception of Norway in 965. That one was a hybrid eclipse.”

“Ok, I have one more date for you to crosscheck. March 28th 99BC.”

“A total solar eclipse, as you no doubt guessed.”

Felicity turned to Bucky. “If one’s an incident, two’s a coincidence and three’s a pattern, what’s six?”

“What do those dates mean?” Dr. Strange asked.

“They’re my birthdays. One for each lifetime.” She admitted. “That flying book of sorcery recorded when I was born, but not where. Every time I’m born, there’s a solar eclipse.”

“You should probably call Esrin.” Bucky said. “Your powers are clearly connected to solar eclipses, plus she doesn’t know about your healing yet.”

“Healing?” Tony and Strange both asked.

“You know how the damage to my spine is permanent?” She asked. Both men nodded. “Turns out it’s not. It’s been happening slowly, but somehow, the dead nerves are repairing themselves.”

“And you think this is related to your abilities.”

“My implant stopped working correctly and I didn’t even notice. What does that tell you?” She asked before continuing. “When I had it turned off, the nerves were repaired enough for me to have complete sensation and stand with some assistance. By the time Curtis fixed the issue, I was able to stand on my own and walk short distances.”

“Within a day, you’d been healed to the point of walking. That’s-.” Tony said. “I think the implant might actually be stalling your natural healing factor, whatever it may be.”

“What?”

“When the chip wasn’t working as normal, that’s when the healing started to happen. Your body only started to heal itself when it didn’t have the chip to rely on. Once it was turned off, your nerves began to heal at an accelerated, near exponential rate. What should’ve been weeks or months of recovery happened within a few hours. You healed slowly when the chip was working properly. To me, that suggests a connection.”

“So the chip is tricking my body, and my powers, into thinking it doesn’t need to be healed.” She said skeptically.

“Not exactly. Just that your spine doesn’t need to be healed. Anything else, it would heal.” Tony said. “Think about it, whether you break a bone or get a papercut, your body immediately knows you’re injured and that it needs to heal itself. So blood clots at a wound sight, bones begin to knit back together, so on. When your implant was working, all signs indicated everything was fine, your body was tricked into thinking you weren’t paralyzed. When it stopped working, the nerves in your spine were like ‘something’s up’ and your body knew it needed to do some repairs. Implant went back on, and your body was like ‘ok, we’re back to normal’. What injuries have you had since you got your powers back?”

“None.” She answered. “I had some muscle soreness one day, that went away. There was the shooting in Star City, but-.”

“There was a shooting in Star City? When?” Bucky asked concerned.

“Two weeks after you came back. I volunteered to be bait. When Oliver cornered the guy, he took a shot at me. He missed though.”

“Did he miss or did you just heal quickly?” Tony asked. “If permanent, complete spinal cord damage can heal to the point of walking within a day, a bullet wound could heal within a few minutes if it didn’t hit a major artery.”

“We need to do another CT scan.” Dr, Strange said. “Now.”

“Or we can wait until tomorrow, and I can process the metric ton of weirdness I’ve already dealt with today.” Felicity suggested.

Since she seemed determined not to deal with this mystery today, Stephen and Tony eventually stopped trying to talk her into exploring the idea further. Felicity and Bucky left to discuss everything they’d learned today. Tony went to his lab. Dr. Strange went back to Kamar Taj.

* * *

 

**Kamar Taj**

When the Sorcerer Supreme stepped out of the portal, he pondered what he should do next. He knew Esrin would want to know what Felicity learned, but it wasn’t his place to tell her. He also doubted she would voluntarily tell her about it unless she had to. Luckily, he didn’t have to dwell too much on the subject as Esrin Fortuna herself came into the room.

“I know you saw Felicity Smoak recently. Has she developed any new abilities?” the shaman asked.

“Not that I know of. Then again, she’s keeping that stuff to herself.” He answered. “Why? Did you find something out?”

“I’ve compiled a list of possible explanations of her powers. I was hoping something would have happened by now that will narrow it down.” She answered. 

“Can’t really help you.” He shrugged.

Esrin got a devious look in her eyes. “You are one of her doctors, correct? I imagine spinal surgeons are difficult to come by, especially ones cleared by the United Nations to work with enhanced and gifted individuals.”

“Yes, I am. But before you go down that road, there’s a little thing called HIPAA. I can’t discuss my patients with you.” He interjected. “So whatever question you’re about to ask, I won’t answer it.”

“Fine. I will ask her myself.” She stalked away from the room.

* * *

 

**New York**

Felicity was just about to get into bed when her phone started ringing. She took one look at the caller ID before denying the call.

“I don’t have the energy for you right now.”

“Who is it?” Bucky asked.

“Faiza. She probably just wants to hear about any progress I’ve made. I’m too exhausted to deal with it right now.”

The phone started ringing again.

“Answer, tell her you’ll back in the morning.” He suggested. “I don’t think she’s giving up.”

“Fine.” She said, before hitting ‘accept’. “Hello….can we have this conversation later? I’m kinda tired….ok, then make it quick…..so I’m not clairvoyant, but I have some kind of awareness. I’m not really seeing the difference……I will call you tomorrow….Goodbye.”

“So, you aren’t psychic?” Bucky asked.

“Apparently not. Faiza thinks we added two and two and got five because it made the most sense at the time.” The blonde shrugged. “That’s tomorrow’s problem.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> \-----  
> Ok, explanations:  
> -Bucky changed the whole course of history: Felicity has some stuff she was/is meant to do. By dying, some of those things were pushed back in time. By making it so that they have to be reincarnated together, the universe/Powers that Be had to create conditions for Bucky to be reborn as well.  
> -Cassandra's attitude: The Romans had been an issue for their people for generations. She didn't care what had to happen or who had to die, she just wanted Rome to fall.  
> -Cassandra's vision(about seeing everything explode into being): big indicator of what Felicity really is.  
> -Felicity's healing: Tony's mostly right. Her healing's only gonna kick in when her body thinks/knows it needs to be healed. Until the implant malfunctioned, her body thought everything was fine.  
> -Esrin's agenda: She's not up to anything. Felicity's just a mystery to her right now, which is rare for her. She wants to solve the mystery ASAP. And she's a little impatient to do so.  
> -Difference between clairvoyance and awareness: basically, clairvoyance doesn't cover or adequately explain what's actually happening when Felicity looks into the past/present/future. It'll be expanded upon soon.


	48. Chapter 48

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, Felicity has some strong opinions about breakfast food, Faiza explains why she can't be clairvoyant and satisfies her curiosity a bit, and the list of 'Things Felicity Might Be' is narrowed down to about four.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note: I know some of the Game of Thrones references don't line up with what happened in Season 7. This takes place in May 2017, that season hasn't aired yet for them.

Felicity jolted awake the next morning and turned to Bucky. He gave her a perplexed look.

“You doing okay?”

“Yeah. I’m just- I’ve got a sudden craving for pancakes.” She answered. “Which is weird because waffles are clearly better.”

“Aren’t they made with the same ingredients?” He asked.

“Waffles are more fun though. Can you build things with pancakes? No, because they’re just circles. But waffles you can build little structures out of.”

“You have some firm opinions about breakfast food.” Bucky commented, amused. “Do I want to know what your thoughts are on yogurt?”

“Strawberry yogurt can go to Hell. Any other kind is fine.”

“Ok. What do you have against strawberries?”

“Strawberries, I’m fine with. It’s just that flavor of yogurt that I hate. Because when I was growing up, I had to eat it all the time, so now I never wanna even look at it again.” Felicity explained.

“You’re weird.”

“Takes one to know one.” She countered before heading into the bathroom to shower. When she came out, Bucky was playing on his phone waiting for her. “What?”

“Nothing. it’s just- how are you doing with everything? Your health, what Shoshannah’s mom said, the increase in your powers, we haven’t talked about any of it. Or what Gideon said about how we keep getting reborn.” He said.

“Are you mad about that?” She asked. “I mean, logic says if I’m the one who keeps bringing us, bringing you back, then it’s my fault. It means you even being born in 1917 is my fault. What happened to you with Hydra was my fault. I didn’t mean for it to happen, and I had good intentions but-”

“It wasn’t your fault. You aren’t responsible for what they did. You didn’t wanna live without me, I didn’t wanna live without you. And I’ll never be mad at you for giving us more time. I only asked because I thought you were blaming yourself.” Bucky said. “What about the other stuff I mentioned?”

“Well, that’s several answers wrapped into one, since they’re all connected. The reincarnation cycle too. I wasn’t expecting her to tell me everything, but seeing her again, talking to her, it brought up a lot of painful memories. I guess I’m glad about my health, the fact I’d be okay without the implant, but I also feel bad. Curtis spent weeks developing it, for so many people it’s their last chance to regain mobility, and it turns out, I don’t even really need it.”

“And your powers?”

“I’m scared. I can control them, but not as much as I’d like. What if it overwhelms me? What if I lose control? And to make things worse, there isn’t a contingency plan if that happens. None of the dampening tech in this building is strong enough to stop me. It stops metahumans, Inhumans, mutants and people like Jessica, but not me. Maybe Vision, who’s part Infinity Stone, might be able to stop me, but that’s not a certainty.” Felicity said honestly. “I’m terrified of finding out exactly how powerful I am.”

“It’s a no-brainer then. I’ll make sure you don’t lose control.” Bucky promised her.

“How?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll need to remind you that your powers aren’t the only part of you. Or that you aren’t alone.  Sometimes, just knowing someone understands is all you need.” He responded. “Trust me, I speak from experience. And now, I sound like some sappy commercial. Let’s get food.”

“My third favorite sentence of all time.” She said as they walked out of the room.

They didn’t talk much on the way to the cafeteria. It was a nice, comfortable silence. A few people they passed gave Felicity a strange look, but no one said anything. Finally, when they got to their destination, a newer agent ran up to them.

“Are you really a reincarnation?”

“Yeah.”

“Woah, really? No way.”

“Yes, way.” Bucky cut in. “Is there something else you need or-?”

“Oh, um, no. I just- I thought they were messing with me.” the agent said nervously before running away.

“I love this compound, I really do, but sometimes I hate how much of a rumor mill this place is.” Felicity commented. “Well, I guess it’s not a rumor, since what they’re talking about it true, but it’s impossible to have any secrets in this place. Everyone knows what everyone’s up to all the time.”

“Just wait til next week. Someone’ll do something dumb, everyone will think they’ve been replaced by an alien clone, and they won’t be so fascinated by you.”

“Are you saying I’m not fascinating?”

“You are, just not because of Shoshannah.”

They spent the next fifteen minutes discussing what they thought would happen during the next season of Game of Thrones and how the show would end, which Felicity had gotten Bucky addicted to. Bucky thought everyone would die at the end of the show, while Felicity’s prediction seemed a little more realistic. She doubted everyone would die; it was a ‘game’ so someone had to win, which meant someone had to survive. She was skeptical on who.

“What are we talking about?” Sam asked as he and Steve sat down.

“Game of Thrones and how it’ll end.”

“Is that the show with the dragons Clint kept mentioning?” Steve asked. Natasha had tried to get him to watch it, but he just wasn’t interested.

“Yeah.” Sam answered. “How do you think it’ll end?”

“He thinks they’ll all die. I don’t think that’s gonna be what happens. I’m hoping Cersei dies, but given who Martin is as a person, I wouldn’t be surprised if she lived.” Felicity said. “I also just want to see Sansa stab Littlefinger in the face. As long as that happens, I won’t complain.”

Steve was about to respond, with a lot of questions, but before he could, Dr. Strange approached the table. “So, guess who I got a visit from yesterday?”

“Esrin Fortuna. She asked you for information, which you didn’t give.” Felicity said.

“So, she got a hold of you then.”

“She didn’t actually.” She answered. Everyone except Bucky and Strange gave her a confused look. Bucky knew Felicity was able to see and know things that she shouldn’t. Stephen wasn’t surprised because, after going to Kamar Taj and the events that followed, very little surprised him anymore.

“I want to-.”

“Do a CT scan, I know. You told me yesterday. I didn’t wanna get poked and prodded for an hour on an empty stomach though.” She stood up and said. “Let’s go. No time like the present, right? See you all later.”

The CT scan didn’t show anything that surprising. The nerves in Felicity’s back had healed plenty, like everyone expected. They couldn’t specify how much healing was because of her powers. Additionally, MRIs were better for looking at nerves, but since the implant was metallic, she couldn’t get an MRI. The CT didn’t show any signs of damage where Felicity might’ve been shot in Starling.

There was one odd detail one of the nurses noticed when Felicity changed into a gown, however. Felicity had taken a bullet for Sara, she had several bullet wounds from Darhk’s attack, she’d undergone nearly a dozen surgeries after being paralyzed. Yet, she didn’t seem to have any scars. No surgical scars, no bullet wounds, not even discoloration from where Sara fixed Felicity’s shoulder. The nurse didn’t mention it to Dr. Strange or Dr. Cho until after she left.

As soon as Felicity was done in medical, Faiza called her. “I need to speak with you, right now.”

“Um, ok.” the blonde said. “Is this about that thing you told me yesterday?”

“Partially. I also wish to test a theory.” She answered.

“Well, I’m at the Compound so-.”

“I will be there in roughly half an hour.” Faiza said before hanging up.

Felicity anxiously paced the lobby of the building while she waited for the other woman to arrive. Something about how Faiza was acting made the blonde feel off-kilter. Eventually, security told Felicity there was a woman at the gate wanting to see her and asking if they should let her onto the grounds. After verifying it was Faiza, the priestess was allowed in. The walk from the lobby to Felicity’s office was silent and tense.

“So, I’m not clairvoyant.” Felicity said upon sitting down. “But I have an awareness. What does that mean?”

“Clairvoyance simply means you can gain knowledge through methods ordinary humans cannot use. There are limits and rules to it that you don’t seem to have to abide by. For example, clairvoyants need to touch, hear, or see something connected to the person, thing or time they want to see. You, as far as I have witnessed, don’t. You appear to intrinsically know things, with little or no effort involved. There is also your ability to detect changes in the past and how those changes impact the present. Even though Barry Allen didn’t tell you about Flashpoint immediately, you knew a change had occurred. And how Flashpoint changed not only the past, but the present and future. If you were merely clairvoyant, you couldn’t have known. You can look into the past and present, but also the future, something that should be impossible. This indicates you aren’t clairvoyant, but possess some form of cosmic awareness.”

“So, you thought I was clairvoyant because it made sense, but upon reflection, it doesn’t make sense, and now you think I’ve just got cosmic awareness. So I know everything, that’s what you’re saying?”

“You don’t know everything, just mostly everything. Particularly things that have affected, do affect or someday will affect you. If nothing else, your uncanny ability to time-travel without causing a single change, should indicate that.”

“That’s all the program and the ship.” Felicity justified.

“Who created them?” She countered. “We’ve proved you aren’t clairvoyant, I don’t know of a way to prove you possess cosmic awareness, so let us move on.”

“To what?”

She started looking through a box she’d brought with her. “You revived a dead plant. I want to know if that’s the only dead thing you can revive.” She pulled something out.

“Tell me you didn’t bring something dead into my office.”

“I do not wish to lie, so I won’t say that.” She answered. “If it helps, I only brought one such animal.” She placed a small container on the desk.

“You brought a dead mouse into my office.” She said, looking between Faiza and the cage. “What am I supposed to do with it?”

“Focus on it and try to remember how you were feeling when you revived the plant.”

Sighing, she decided to give it a shot. Felicity had barely looked at the mouse before it began to move. He started sniffing around his cage and exploring his surroundings.

“What the actual fuck?”

“It appears you can resurrect animals and most likely people as well.” Faiza said, not sounding surprised.

“I- I need to go. You know the way out of here, right?” the blonde said before teleporting away.

* * *

 

**Tony’s Lab**

Tony was repairing his suit when Felicity literally popped up next to him. “Gah! I know you can do that, but don’t. I have a heart condition!”

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I- Faiza- I’m freaking out and I needed to be not where I was.”

“Okay, why here though?”

“I’m telekinetic, telepathic, I can teleport, I control and manipulate matter at a subatomic level. My permanent paralysis healed itself. I’ve got some weird ability to know almost everything.”

“Ok, we knew most of that.”

“I was created during what I’m pretty sure was the Big Bang. I, and by that I mean every person with this face, was born during a solar eclipse. I can see the past, present and future, and how it all connects. I keep bringing myself back to life and on top of all of that, I just found out I can resurrect people. I’m kinda freaking out!”

“Ok, but that narrows things down quite a bit.” Tony said. “The Worldkiller and the Destroyer of Worlds were created by other beings. That makes them a few billion years old at most, not the 13.8 billion you’d be if you were created during the Big Bang. Neither of them can resurrect people or manipulate matter at the level you can. You can’t be the Devourer of World’s either, because, you know, you don’t eat planets. That leaves Kismet, a Celestial, a Beyonder, the Phoenix Force, the Source or one of the Lords of Order/Lords of Chaos.”

“Celestials are the size of planets, Tony. I think we can rule that one out too.”

“Ok, my point is we went from dozens of possible explanations to five. And how can you know ‘almost everything’ but not know what you are? I’m not blaming you, I just don’t think it makes sense.”

“Maybe my cosmic awareness came with some cosmic denial thrown in.” Felicity deadpanned. "I should go before people start freaking out about trying to find me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?  
> What do you think Felicity is? (This is your last chance to guess.)  
> \-----  
> I also realized I haven't done much with the whole 'Bucky was Ra's al Ghul' thing yet. Some of that's coming later, some's gonna be in a flashback. So, which would you prefer:   
> 1)Flashback to that life and then Felicity/Bucky have a chapter of fluff  
> 2) Felicity/Bucky chapter of fluff and then Nanda Parbat flashbacks.  
> Both are happening, and relate to each other, I'm just torn on which to do next.


	49. Chapter 49

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Ra's met Laila, and how they parted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter tells the very beginning of Felicity/Bucky's lives as Ra's al Ghul and Laila and the very end of it. Bucky was Ra's for a VERY LONG time, so the events in between will be a different chapter.
> 
> I just made up the birth name of Nyssa's father.
> 
> Remember how Faiza told Felicity her dreams are meant to lead her to Bucky? This chapter explains how she knows that.

**Azerbaijan 1405**

Laila gave her village one last look before leaving, never to return again. She never felt like she belonged there anyway. She looked just a little too different, thought too different, and only managed to fit in when she was forced to not be herself. She had a nice life, but it never felt like the life she was supposed to have.

Then, the dreams started. Roughly a month earlier, Laila had a bizarre dream. In it, she went by another name and lived in another time. There was a man in the dream, one she seemed to care deeply for. She dismissed at a dream, nothing more. A few days later, she had a similar dream. It took place in the same time, but different events happened in it. After a few more days, her dream changed. The man was still there, but Laila’s name and the era changed. A week after that, a new dream, same man, but different time. Every night since then, she had one of the three dreams without fail.

She believed the dreams were trying to tell her something, something she couldn’t work out. after a great deal of thought, Laila saw only one way forward. She needed to know what they meant. This meant she’d have to leave her village for answers. No one she knew had any knowledge about dreams and the few she thought might waved her off as having an overactive imagination as if she were 5 and not 19. The dreams also made the rift between Laila and her family wider. She’d always been different, but since the dreams started, she’d started feeling like she didn’t even belong in her own family.

So, she packed a few belongings and left in the middle of the night. She’d heard rumors of a group in the east who could interpret dreams. She hoped the rumors were true and she’d finally get some answers.

As she headed towards the path that led through the mountains, she heard someone call her name. “Laila, wait!” It was her older brother Farid. “Where are you going?”

“East.” She said. “Return home.”

“Why?”

“I have had the same dream every evening for a month. It means something, I know it does. I need to learn what that is. No one in our village can help me, so I must find someone who can. There are rumors of people in the east who can.”

“You cannot go on your own.” Farid argued. “It is not safe.”

“I must. This- it feels right. For the first time, I feel like this is what I am meant to do.” She said. “I will be fine.”

“Traveling on your own is an invitation for trouble. You cannot go alone, I will not allow it.”

“You are my brother, not my father. You do not allow me to do anything.” Laila told him. “Goodbye.”

Laila traveled off the beaten path from her village to Baki where she boarded a ship and sailed across the Caspian Sea to Ekerem. After arriving there, she continued to weave here way around cities and larger villages for quite a while. More often than not in smaller villages, people offered her food and a place to spend the night.

Things were going well enough for Laila. She hadn’t found the people she’d heard rumors about, but she also hadn’t had any serious issues on her journey. All of that changed as she got closer to the Hindu Kush mountain range.

At every village she’d stopped at, Laila had asked about Al-Kahina, which was the only lead she had to the people she was looking for. Until she got close to the mountains, no one she spoke to could tell her anything. When she stopped at a village towards the western edge of the mountains, she asked about Al-Kahina again. instead of confusion, she was met with suspicion.

“Why are you trying to find Al-Kahina?” one villager asked.

“I was hoping to find answers from her.”

“Finding her will not end the way you believe it will.”

“You know her?”

“Everyone in this village knows of her. And those she serves. Abandon this quest of yours. It will only end in tragedy.” The villager warned. “None who seek her out have ever returned.”

The warning set Laila back for a bit. She was debating whether to ignore it and keep searching or heed the advice and go home. Later that evening, two men showed up at the home where Laila was staying. They told the owner to fetch the person asking about Al-Kahina. Wanting to avoid problems for her host, Laila walked up to the men and said it was her. The homeowner closed the door as soon as she stepped through it. Before she could say anything, she was knocked out.

When Laila came to, she was in an unfamiliar room. It wasn’t a dungeon, but it clearly was fortified. She could hear voices nearby wondering who she was and what she wanted. The second she opened her eyes, someone appeared in the room and spoke.

“You are the one asking for Al-Kahina?” A male voice said.

“I am.”

“May I ask why?”

“I have questions that need answering, I was told she could help.”

“What questions?”

“It does not matter, does it? You are going to kill me.”

“Your fate will be decided by the Demon Head. I hope your questions have been worth it.” the man responded before pulling her from the room. She was taken to a large, open room where several dozen people stood waiting.

“So, you are the one seeking Al-Kahina. Because there are questions you want answered.” A man with his back to her said. “What questions could be so important that you would risk life and limb to discover their answers?”

“Questions about who I am. Ones no one else seems capable of answering.” She said, trying to sound confident. “If wanting to know is a crime worthy of death, then so be it.”

The man turned around, angry at how unafraid she sounded. “Who dares speak to- **_My love?”_**

Ra’s was beginning to worry he was doomed to spend this life alone. After all, he dreamt of Shoshannah, he remembered Shoshannah, but he hadn’t been able to find her, despite how hard he tried. What surprised him most wasn’t that she’d found him or that she seemed unconcerned with what could happen to her, it was her hair. Shoshannah, Cateline and Ingrid all had blonde hair, not always the same shade, but blonde nonetheless. Laila’s hair was dark brown, nearly black. She looked good this way, it was just an unexpected surprise. Laila was also surprised. Jacob seemed more disciplined and composed than he had been before. His face gave away nothing and he gave off a closed-off, in control vibe she wasn’t used to seeing from him.

**_“This is not possible.”_** Laila responded as their eyes met.

“Leave us.” He said to the gathered assassins. They bowed and left. He took a step closer to her. “You are here.”

“I had dreams of you, of us, in our other lives. They led me to leaving me home to find answers. I suppose this was part of fate’s plans since that search led me here. Wherever here is.”

“Nanda Parbat. This place is home to an ancient order of assassins.”

“You are an assassin?”

He took a deep sigh, like he wished he didn’t have to explain this to her. Like he was ashamed of it. “I am Ra’s al Ghul, the leader of these men.”

“And what is your name in this life?” Laila asked.

“You are not angered by my mission?” Ra’s asked. “And I gave up my name, my identity in service of the League. Ra’s al Ghul is the only name I am known by.”

“Oh, well I am Laila. And no, I am not angry. I do not fully understand, but I am not angry. I assume you are not simply killing whoever or whenever you wish for whatever reason you wish.”

“No, every life I have taken serves a greater purpose. Stopping those truly evil from continuing to harm others or keeping the world in balance.”

“Were you born here?”

“No, I was brought here as a child. My father abandoned the League and committed suicide to avoid their punishment. I was forced to take his place. When the time came, I was chosen by my predecessor as the next Ra’s al Ghul.”

“What happens to me?” Laila said after a quiet moment. “I mean, you are not going to kill me, but I do not wish to leave. Am I allowed to stay?”

“You must stay.” A voice said from the doorway.

“Al-Kahina. We do not require your assistance.” Ra’s told the priestess.

“She is your soulmate. The woman you are destined to marry. Fate brought her to Nanda Parbat so that you could. To do anything else would anger the forces pulling you together.”

“I guess we are marrying.” Laila said.

“Please allow me to propose to you properly, **_my love._** ” Ra’s said. **_“I have loved you for centuries. Will you-?”_**

**_“Yes!_** Yes! For the third and hopefully last time, yes!” She shouted.

Ra’s immediately left the room to announce his impending marriage to Laila. Over the next week, the happy couple didn’t seem much of each other. There was a lot to do to prepare for the wedding, and, per League tradition, their few moments together were chaperoned. Finally, the day of the ceremony arrived.

Laila entered the temple and two rows of assassins drew their swords. She walked through the arch created by the swords to where Ra’s and Al-Kahina were waiting.

“There is no vow more sacred, nor covenant more holy than the one between man and woman.” Al-Kahina began. “With this ceremony, your souls are bound together, forever joined. You will never be free. You will always be held captive by your love for each other.”

There was a pause. “We offer blessings. Barakat.”

Laila, Ra’s and every other person repeated the blessing. The priestess took both their hands and joined them together. “The union is sealed.”

Laila and Ra’s looked at one another before matching smiles formed on their faces. They finally had the other back, and this time nothing would get in the way.

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat-1778**

Laila left the temple with Ra’s and made it all the way to their quarters before speaking. He’d recently returned from dealing with a situation in the west and he didn’t come back alone. Two men who looked to be in their 20s came with him. One had very fair skin and white blond hair, the other was more oliver toned with dark hair and dark eyes.

“How certain are you?” She asked him as he closed the door.

“Fairly certain. One of those two is destined to be my successor.”

“I do not like this. Both men you’ve returned with, Darhk and Sarkisian, they do not strike me as your real successor. I believe your real heir has yet to be found.”

“Is that your suspicion, or do you simply not want to think about what having an heir means?” Ra’s countered.

For the last three hundred years, Ra’s and Laila had stayed alive thanks to the Lazarus Pit. They knew death was inevitable, but kept delaying talking about it.

“I do not want to think about your death, I admit that. I also believe both of them will be corrupted by the power you have and will in return corrupt the League itself.”

“What would you have me do? I cannot avoid death forever and the League must have a leader.”

“Do not tell them, either of them, of the other Lazarus Pits. The location of the others is known only to you and me, and whoever succeeds you does not need to know of any Pit besides the one here.”

“You would have me lie?”

“By omission. I have looked forward in time, and bad things will happen when you are no longer Demon Head. Regardless of which horsemen becomes your heir.”

It was terrible what she’d seen. In one vision, most of humanity was killed as one horseman attempted to cleanse the world. In another, the other released a sickness in a large city. The sickness spread across the globe. Fewer civilians died, but the devastation was still the same. Laila only wished there was some way she could stop these events from happening.

“Your visions are not set in stone, by your own admission. You cannot guarantee what will happen. I can guarantee that we are running out of time, however, before our deaths.”

“Please, be careful and be certain before you choose a successor.” Laila said as a last warning.

Five years later, Sarkisian was chosen as Ra’s successor. Darhk escaped Nanda Parbat with a handful of men and water from the Lazarus Pit. Neither had been told about the other Pits. The Heir to the Demon destroyed his own homeland and killed Ra’s as a final test. Laila was killed in an attempted coup the day before that happened.

Two hundred thirty-four years later, after the excitement of Bucky and Felicity being reunited had died down, she turned to Bucky and said “I told you so,” in regards to what both Darhk and Nyssa’s father had tried, and nearly succeeded, in doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Some fun facts:  
> -Bucky was Ra's for about 378 years. Laila died at the age of 397. Ra's was a little over 400. That's one very long lifetime.  
> -Laila's visions refer to Genesis Day and the Alpha-Omega outbreak in Starling.


	50. Chapter 50

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Felicity/Bucky fluff, with some angst thrown in. Hope lets something slip and something happens somewhere else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's implied/mentions of sex in this chapter (nothing explicit because I suck at writing smut)

**New Avengers Compound**

When Felicity woke up the next morning, she didn’t find herself face-to-face with Bucky. Instead, there was a bouquet of flowers in front of her face. She picked the flowers up and smelled them. Calla lilies, her favorite. She smiled, before wondering where Bucky was.

Her question was answered when she heard the door to their bedroom opened and saw him standing there looking at her. “Good morning, my love.”

“Hi.” Felicity said. “Is everything ok? I mean, I’m happy to see you, it’s just- why are you awake right now instead of Bucky?”

Ra’s chuckled before sitting down on the end of the bed. “Everything is fine. We talked, briefly, a few days ago and he agreed to leave me in charge for today.”

“Why today?”

“It is May 23rd.” Ra’s said. “Happy 612th anniversary.”

“It’s May 23rd already? I- this- I’m the worst, I totally forgot.” Felicity said freaking out. “I mean, I didn’t get you anything and-“

“You did not need to get me a gift. Simply having a day to spend with you, free from other commitments, is enough of a gift already.” Ra’s told her.

“But work-“

“Ms. Smoak, you have nothing scheduled today. You marked yourself as unavailable months ago.” Mac reminded her.

“Right.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “So, how does one spend their 612th wedding anniversary?”

He smiled and offered her a hand. “Follow me.”

He led her out of their bedroom into the living room area of their quarters. “Umm, why does it look like a flower shop exploded in here?”

Every surface and most of the floor was covered in vases of flowers. Roses, calla lilies, tulips, pretty much every flower one could think of, had invaded the room.  

“I missed 234 anniversaries, in addition to a combined 53 birthdays. 287 bouquets seemed excessive, but 287 flowers was much more reasonable.” Ra’s answered shrugging.

Felicity leaned over and kissed him. when they broke apart, she told him, “you really are something else.”

“Loving you is one of the few things James and I keep getting right.” Ra’s said. “I am not a man of many words, neither is he, but we both love you, the Soldier too.”

“Wait, what?”

“The doctor was correct about certain things, but wrong about many things about us. James, the Soldier and I, we are parts of the same whole, not three different beings. We have different personalities and only one of us is ‘awake’ at a time, but each of us is aware of what the others are doing. We have the same emotions, but our reactions are different. James needed to put a name to what Hydra created, hence the Soldier. When he remembered being me, it was too long a lifetime for him to fully assimilate with the other versions of him, so I became my own personality.”

“That actually makes a lot more sense than the other explanation.” Felicity said. “I didn’t fully understand why you, and not say Jacob or Stigr, existed separate from Bucky.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s not talk about this now. Today’s a happy day.”

“Indeed it is.” He gave her a soft smile. “Come, I have more planned today than just flowers.”

“I’ve got my own plans, and something tells me you’ll wanna do mine first.” Felicity said suggestively.

“I think you might be correct.”

 

“Hey, have you seen Bucky?” Steve asked Natasha when he saw her at lunch later that day. “I tried finding him earlier but couldn’t.”

“No, I haven’t. Maybe he had therapy or something.” She suggested. “You could always ask Drake, Hand, FRIDAY or the other AI.”

“I don’t think FRIDAY or the other program like me.” he admitted. “And both the agents have more important things to do.”

“More important than what?” Sam asked sitting down.

“He’s looking for Bucky.” Natasha answered. “You see him?” Sam shook his head. “Maybe its his day off today.”

“It’s who’s day off today?” Scott asked walking by.

“Bucky’s, we think.”

“Oh yeah, he and Felicity have had today scheduled off for months. I guess it’s an important day for them.” he shrugged and started eating.

“It’s not her birthday or his. What importance could it have?” Natasha wondered aloud.

“It’s their anniversary.” Hope said taking a seat next to Scott. “No one wanted to argue with either of them about getting the day off."

"Why not?"

"Because when two reincarnated people stand there and say 'its our 600th wedding anniversary, we want the day off to celebrate', it's hard to say no." Hope answered. She paused and looked at the others. "Judging by the look on your faces, you didn't know Barnes was also a reincarnation."

"Buck's a reincarnation? He can't be." Steve said.

"He is. I don't know much about it, but all the supernatural/magical/mystical people say he is. He says he is, so he is." Hope said. "Take it up with him."

 

Felicity leaned back on the bed. “I know anniversary sex isn’t particularly creative, but I missed this.” Felicity and Bucky had started to get physical a few weeks ago, but Ra’s and Bucky weren’t the same kind of lover. Neither was better than the other, they were just different.

“I did as well.” Ra’s answered. “You were right, I did like your idea better.”

“I told you. So, what’s next?”

“Well, eventually, we will need to get dressed. We have reservations and I have some other surprises for you.” Ra’s said.

They left the compound and headed into New York City. They had a picnic in Central Park before going to Coney Island where he won her several prizes on carnival games. They ended the trip with dinner at an upscale restaurant in Manhattan.

They went made their way back to the compound and went up to the roof. “You never told me why you enjoy this so much.” Ra’s said as Felicity laid back, staring up at the stars.

“They just- it made me feel less alone. It always has. I used to look up and realize how big the universe was and it was comforting. Maybe it’s because of what I am, I don’t know. I’ve just always liked space I guess.”

Ra’s was about to respond when Felicity closed her eyes and seemed to go completely still.

* * *

 

**On Another Earth**

A man gave a woman a pleading look. “Stop, please. We don’t-“ Everyone he could see, ally and enemy alike, looked terrified of her. Of what she seemed ready to do. 

“Why should I?” The woman responded. “Why should I let this keep happening? What’s the point in living when you see what you do with it?”

“We aren’t perfect but- we can-“ The man began to say.

Then, the world was silent.

* * *

 

**Earth One-New Avengers Compound**

When Felicity’s eyes reopened, there was something different about them. She still hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Laila? Are you well?” Ra’s asked. She didn’t respond.

Bucky came back when she still wasn’t reacting. “Felicity?” Still no response. “Please, say something. Felicity!”

“She is not home right now.” Felicity’s body said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> What do you think that bit on another earth was about? What happened? What's happening to Felicity?


	51. Chapter 51

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something happened on another Earth, and it's affecting Earth One. Felicity's full identity is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Two chapters in two days?
> 
> Please see End Notes for explanations

**Central City**

One moment, everything in Star Labs was quiet. At least, as quiet as it could be for Star Labs. The next second, a loud, blaring, impossible to ignore alarm began going off. Barry and Wally both sped into the Cortex instantly trying to figure out what was wrong, Cisco vibed into the room and a few moments later, Caitlin stormed into the room.

“What is going on? Frost’s getting annoyed and trying to get out.” Caitlin asked.

Cisco, meanwhile, was typing furiously into one of the consoles. “I- It’s- the MTWS went haywire.”

 The MTWS, or Multiversal Threat Warning System, was tech Felicity and Cisco had created to keep an eye on the other Earths in the multiverse. It registered any being crossing into another universe as well as monitored any threat to the multiverse as a whole.

“What does that mean? Did something cross onto this Earth? Should we call the UN? Or Felicity?”

“What? No. this- If it was a breacher,I would’ve felt it and the system wouldn’t have reacted like this. There isn’t a threat, it’s like-.”

“Like what?” Killer Frost asked.

“Something very, very bad happened. End of the world bad.” Cisco said. “I don’t think a phone call will cover it.”

* * *

**New Avengers Compound**

“Laila? Are you well?” Ra’s asked. She didn’t respond.

Bucky came back when she still wasn’t reacting. “Felicity?” Still no response. “Please, say something. Felicity!”

“She is not home right now.” Felicity’s body said.

Bucky pulled a gun from his concealed holster and aimed it at her. “If you aren’t Felicity, who are you? And where is she?”

“I am- I have so very many names. I am known on so many worlds, to so many civilizations. They speak of me throughout time and space.  One name could not accurately encapsulate it all.” She sighed. “Put the gun away. You will not use it and even if you did, it could not harm me.”

“Who are you? What are you?”

“Felicity Smoak is quite the walking contradiction. Her body is 28, yet her soul is 2115 years old. Her body is young, human and fragile, yet it houses me, the furthest thing from human, young and fragile.”

“You’re the cosmic entity. The one who took over my soulmate’s body for its own ends. Sorry for not being excited to meet you.”

“You have gotten many things incorrect in your assumption. You believe, and she remains in denial and thus also believes, that there is Felicity and then there is me. Two mutually exclusive beings. We are not. Once, we were separate. When I chose Shoshannah as a host, our essences, my powers and her soul, fused together. Irreparably connected. I can take other forms, possess other bodies, but I am not complete unless in this form. We are one and the same. I am Felicity.”

“If you are Felicity, how can you say she isn’t here?” Bucky challenged.

“When I say ‘Felicity is not here’ I mean the human parts of her. Her emotions, her memories, her morals, her personality, they are all ‘gone’ at the moment. I sent them away. What remains is myself, powerful, immortal, indestructible, amoral.”

“What did you do to her?”

“I did nothing, except save her mind from splintering. I do not merely possess some psionic ability, I am the nexus of all psionic energy. In this universe and every alternate universe that has or will ever exist.”

“Doesn’t explain where Felicity is or why you sent her away.”

“As I said, to keep her mind from splintering. This Earth is not just any Earth. It is the prime Earth. Every alternative universe is splintered off of this one. If something truly catastrophic happened in another universe, the ripple effect would be felt here. She could have handled the energy being released, but the trauma, knowing what happened, I was unsure if her too-human emotions could keep up. It was better for her, and everyone else, to process these events on the astral plane. Similar to how the Winter Solider will come forward when you feel threatened.”

“But she’s coming back, right?”

“Yes, of course. I told you, we are bound together. I would be incomplete without her. In fact-” Felicity’s eyes blinked a few times and then she started sobbing.

“What happened?”

“I- they- I know what I am now. It only took a cataclysm for me to admit it.”

“She- you- the entity said you were in denial.” Bucky said. “Something about psionic energy, I take it.”

“Yeah, I’m the Phoenix, nexus of all psionic energy, guardian of creation and manifestation of life itself. Ironic isn’t it? Since I haven’t been able to, you know, give birth ever.” She sighed. “I can’t get rid of her, can I?”

“She said she was you and you were her, so I’m gonna go with ‘no’. What happened?”

“It’s-I-.”

Before Felicity could elaborate, her phone rang. It was Agent Hand. “I’m sorry to call you, but the Flash’s team is here and claims there is an emergency.”

“Here here? At the Compound?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be right down. Don’t call anyone else. They might be overreacting.”

“The New Avengers, Rogues, Team Arrow, SHIELD and ARGUS have already been contacted.” She admitted.

“Great.” Felicity said before hanging up. 

Bucky gave Felicity’s hand a tight squeeze of support before she went into the conference room. He wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure the Phoenix’s appearance had something to do with whatever emergency was going on and Felicity knew exactly what it was.

The second she entered the room, Cisco stood up and said. “The MTWS went haywire.”

“I know.”

“Ok, first of all, what even is that?” Sam asked.

“It stands for the Multiversal Threat Warning System.” Tony said in a bored voice.

“This Earth, this universe, it isn’t the only one to exist. There’s an infinite number of parallel earths and universes. For example, there’s a world where the dinosaurs never died off. A world where JFK was never assassinated. One where everyone was born a different gender, you get the idea.” Cisco said. “Some people can generate or harness enough energy to move from one universe to another. We’ve taken to calling them breachers.”

“And one of these breachers is here.” A SHIELD agent asked. “A few weeks ago, you all said this wasn’t that rare and isn’t an emergency.”

“It wouldn’t be, except it’s not a breacher.” Cisco said.

“If it’s not a breacher than what is it?”

“We don’t know, but that kind of reaction from the tech-.”

“One of the universes in the multiverse was destroyed.” Felicity said distractedly. “Or at least, that universe’s Earth was destroyed. Anything capable of causing that would trigger a DEFCON-1 response from the MTWS.”

“How do you-“

“Which Earth?” Cisco asked her. “What number?”

“Earth 53. The one we named Earth-X.” She said. Felicity and Cisco had given certain Earths non-numerical designations. Some were barren wastelands. Some were home to dystopias. Others had no humans. For one reason or another, travelling to these Earths seemed like a bad idea. "Earth-X is gone." 

Then, the questions started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Teaser(s): This story has had a distinct lack of Melinda May and Daisy Johnson (until now) Who/what is responsible for what happened to Earth-X? And how responsible are they?
> 
> Also, congrats to the people who correctly guessed she was the Phoenix  
> \------  
> Explanations:  
> -Earth-X is a dystopian Earth, but it's not the same Earth-X as the Arrowverse crossover (I refuse to have a Nazi-world exist or give characters I love doppelgangers in that world)  
> -why Felicity 'wasn't home'-a huge amount of psionic energy was released, abosrbing or even interacting with that much energy at once could've made her go crazy(like Dark Phoenix crazy)  
> -The Phoenix and Felicity are one and the same- Felicity is the White Phoenix of the Crown (i.e. the 'true' Phoenix)  
> -More about Earth-X and how Felicity knows what happened will be revealed soon.  
> -There is a reason I didn't describe the people on Earth-X in depth at all.


	52. Chapter 52

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earth X's fate is revealed and the debate about who's responsible starts.

**New Avengers Compound**

“Which Earth?” Cisco asked her. “What number?”

“Earth 53. The one we named Earth-X.” She said.  Felicity and Cisco had given certain Earths non-numerical designations. Some were barren wastelands. Some were home to dystopias. Others had no humans. For one reason or another, travelling to these Earths seemed like a bad idea. "Earth-X is gone." 

Then, the questions started.

“What is Earth-X? What makes it so different from this one?”

“How do you know that?”

“How can it just be gone? What happened to it?”

The questions continued but Felicity didn’t speak.

“Are you going to answer the questions, Ms. Smoak?” Slade Wilson asked, which jolted Felicity out of her trance.

“Earth-X is- It was a bad Earth, there’s no other way to say it.” she began.

“Meaning what? Swine flu pandemic killed everyone? Alien invasion worked? The Nazis won World War II? What?” Clint asked.

“No, none of those. We never managed to work out what happened, but at some point around 1900 something very bad happened. Society collapsed and humanity split into factions. Ten years later, one faction with a tyrannical leader starting to gain ground and take over the others. It keeps growing until it’s a New World Order situation. Leader becomes an even more tyrannical dictator. Anyone here who’s read a dystopian novel can guess what life there was like.” Cisco answered. “Martial law, police states, people getting arrested for thought crimes, labor camps, I can go on but you seem to get it.”

“So what happened?”

“What happens in every society under a dictatorship. Eventually, someone has enough and a resistance gets formed. The last three years or so has been this constant, almost world-wide war between the resistances and the governments.” Cisco said.

“When you say it’s gone, do you mean humanity’s been wiped out or-?”

“I mean, the entire planet is gone. It was destroyed.” Felicity said.

“What happened?”

* * *

 

**Earth X- An hour ago**

The resistance team cheered as the soldiers sent by the regime ran away from the other side of the destroyed bridge. It had cost blood, sweat and no shortage of lives, but for the first time in years, the regime didn't have a way to reach the town where the resistance base was located.

After leaving some men behind to stand guard, the rest of the fighters returned to their base. When they got there, they saw everyone was celebrating the most recent victory. Everyone except one woman that is. The general walked over to her.

“Why aren’t you celebrating with the others? This is an important day. We won!” he inquired.

“Did you look?” She asked him.

“Look at what?”

“The vehicles on the bridge. The one you destroyed to make it harder for soldiers to get into the city. The cars you blew up, did you even look inside them before setting the charges?”

“No.” the general answered. “Why?”

“Because, there were children on that bridge.” she answered. “Those buses were taking an elementary school on a field trip. I didn’t sign up for murdering innocent people.”

“We’re trying to create a better world. Sacrifices need to be made.”

“They’re kids! They didn’t have anything to do with what’s going on right now. And ‘sacrifice need to be made’? Since when are children acceptable losses?”

“Those kids were from the Western Academy. They were being groomed to serve the government. What’s the point in sparing them if they’re gonna grow up to fight us later?”

“So you did look before you blew the bridge.” she said.

“It was my only chance to blow the bridge. If I had to do it over again, I would. If this is the only way to overthrow them, so be it. The kids dying is sad, but it got the job done. The bridge, the only way to march an army in here to wipe us out, is gone. I’d say the ends are justified.”

“How are we any better than them now?”

“Because we’re right!” he yelled.

She felt a wave of anger wash over her, like never before. “How can you fucking say that? We’re supposed to be better than them, not stoop to their level. ‘The resistance kills kids’. You just gave them all the ammo they need to justify killing us.”

“If you don’t like the way I run my unit, you can join another one.” he said, waving a dismissive hand at the door. “Good luck finding one that’s as weak as you are.”

She felt something snap as he said that. At the same time, many of the other resistance members felt a snap as their necks broke. “I don’t know when you decided anyone who wasn’t with us was against us, but it’s the worst decision you ever could’ve made. Valuing life isn’t a weakness.” She left the building while the general was left surrounded by the dead bodies of his fallen comrades. When the shock wore off, he followed her out.

“How long? How long have you been able to do that?” He asked her.

“A while.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? It could’ve changed everything. We could’ve won the war already.”

“Because, you can’t win this fight with me and me alone. To stop the government, we need most of the people to want us to stop them. If I just waved my hand and changed things. we'd return to something like this.” She answered.

The woman walked from the secret base into the center of town. She needed to think, to consider what she was supposed to do now. She joined the rebellion because the government killed her whole family after her father was caught just talking to a known rebel. The only reason she survived was because they needed to leave someone alive as a message. She was pulled out of her reverie when she noticed a group of people huddling in the town square. Not wanting to seem suspicious, she headed in that direction. She saw a group of soldiers standing there with their commander addressing the crowd. Clearly, blowing up the bridge wasn't as effective as the resistance thought. 

“-anyone who comes forward with information about this morning’s attack will be rewarded. Those found to be sheltering or aiding the rebels will be dealt with swiftly and mercilessly. Now is the time to step forward.” No one moved. No one spoke. “Very well. I suppose a demonstration is in order.” He gestured and a group of people were dragged forward. They appeared to be civilians. “Would anyone like to confess anything? No. Ready. Aim. Fire.” The soldiers with him fired and killed them row of civilians. “I’d advise you all to think about your who you are loyal to and-.”

This was the woman’s breaking point. The regime killed innocent civilians. Now, the resistance did too. Neither even seemed to feel bad about it anymore. The other civilians seemed resigned to it. She’d had some hope, foolish as it might’ve been, that there was still a little bit of humanity left. A tiny bit of remorse or a desire to be better. That was now gone.

“What’s the point?” the woman shouted, gaining the commander’s attention. “You kill them. They kill you. You show up wanting answers and kill us. It never ends.”

“You would do well to-.”

“Or what? You’ll kill me. This is all we do anymore. It’s all we are.” She said. “Maybe us existing at all is a mistake. This world would be better without us.”  _Good thing I can make that happen._

The earth began to shake. The general arrived just as it started. The ground began to split apart. He gave her a pleading look. “Stop, please. We don’t-“

“Why should I?” The woman responded. “Why should I let this keep happening? What’s the point in living when you see what you do with it?”

“We aren’t perfect but- we can-“

Before the man could finish, the earth was blown apart. Seconds later, the rest of its universe went with it.

* * *

 

**Earth One-Present**

“What happened?”

“Someone on that earth, they had abilities, they literally blew Earth X apart.” Felicity answered. “Scorched earth and all.” _The rest of that universe too._

“And how do you know what happened?”

“When it got destroyed, a massive amount of energy was released into this universe. I felt it.” _And saw it. I saw her do it._ “The person behind it, they stopped seeing the point in fighting anymore or even living. Unfortunately, they were powerful enough to destroy that whole world.” _And the whole universe._

“The person who did it, do you know anything about them? Their name, anything?” one of the agents in the corner asked.

“No, why?”

“There’s a woman who works for SHIELD, she’s enhanced. Hypothetically, she could tear the world apart.”

“What does that have to do with this situation? She wasn’t on Earth X.” Cisco asked.

“But it could’ve been her Earth-X doppelganger, right? Her doppelganger is still her. Then, the version of her that lives here is just as responsible.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t work that way. On another Earth, someone in here is a serial killer. Doesn’t mean we can arrest them for that here.” Felicity said. “And if you’re thinking of Agent Johnson, I can tell you it wasn’t her doppelganger that did it.”

“How?”

“Earth-X wasn’t torn apart, it was blown apart. As in, it exploded. Not really the same.”

“Again, how do you know all of this?” Another person asked.

“Because I saw it happen. When all that energy got released, I saw what happened to Earth-X.”

“I think there’s a lot you ‘forgot’ to tell us about you.” Agent Ross said.

“No, I told you exactly what I meant to. Knowing what goes on in other universes isn’t that helpful. Especially since I can’t travel to them.” Felicity said. “Earth X is gone. There’s nothing we can do.”

The meeting ended soon after. Felicity thought a visit to SHIELD might be in order.

* * *

 

**SHIELD**

Felicity teleported to inside the garage of the new SHIELD headquarters. Several techs jumped and one went running down the hallway yelling about intruders. She stood and watched as this happened. A group of about five people ran into the room with their weapons drawn. One of them saw her face and told the others to stand down.

“Do you break in here just to rile up the new recruits?” Melinda May asked her. Felicity had visited SHIELD a handful of times before this. For all except one visit, she arrived in the same manner.

“No, I do it because if I visit without calling, its important and I don’t wanna waste time at the three different checkpoints.” The blonde answered. “It’s also kinda funny for me.” she paused. “Bobbi and Hunter say hi.” After SHIELD disavowed Bobbi More and Lance Hunter, the pair had drifted for a little bit. After Genesis Day, they happened upon ARGUS trying to do damage control. They were arrested, then questioned, then Lyla made them a job offer. They’d been working for ARGUS for several months.

“What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to Daisy about something. It’s important.” Felicity needed to give Daisy a head’s up about Agent Morris’ line of questions when discussing Earth-X. Johnson’s powers hadn’t been pushed to the limit yet and she at least deserved to know why some agents might begin to act distrustful towards her.

May looked at Felicity, trying to work out if Felicity was being honest and whether or not to trust her. She must have decided she was, because she turned and walked into the base, expecting Felicity to follow.

“She’s probably in the gym right now. How urgent is this conversation?”

“I didn’t say it was urgent, I said it was important. Something happened, and given what she can do, I felt she deserves a warning that she might face some extra scrutiny for a while.”

“For what?”

“I’d rather tell both of you at once.” The blonde answered.

They found Daisy, as expected, in the gym. “Felicity, what’re you doing here?”

“There’s something we need to talk about.” The blonde said. Everyone else was looking at them. “Why don’t you, me and Agent May find an empty office to talk in?” Johnson nodded and followed them out of the room. “Remember when we talked about the multiverse and I said that it was real? There are alternate universes and such.”

“Yeah.”

“I still don’t fully believe you about that.” May said.

“Understandable. Something happened on one of the other Earths.” Felicity said as they walked into May’s office. “It was blown apart.”

“How do you-?”

“Star Labs has a sensor that registers any cataclysmic event that happens on other Earths. An entire planet getting destroyed registers. I also felt it happen because a massive amount of energy was released into this universe when it did.” Felicity admitted. “When I explained what happened, someone brought you up.”

“They think I did it.” Daisy said sounding betrayed.

“Your doppelganger, yes. There’s some problems with that. One, when I say ‘blown apart’ I mean it exploded. Not really your skillset.” Felicity explained. “You also can’t blame someone on this Earth for what their doppelganger does. They aren’t always the same people. There are at least five people working for the Accords Council who are serial killers on other Earths. On Earth 2, Beyonce is a U.S. Senator.”

“If it couldn’t be her, why are you telling us this?” May asked.

“Because, people can be stubborn and stupid. Just because I say it couldn’t be Daisy doesn’t mean they’ll listen or believe me. They want someone to blame, even though the Earth in question was horrible and it getting destroyed was probably the best thing that could’ve happened to it. Anyway, you needed to know before others showed up and tried to blame you.”

“What do you mean ‘others’?”

“There were SHIELD agents in that meeting. A few of them didn’t like that there wasn’t someone to blame.” Felicity answered. “I wouldn’t put it past them to skew the story when they reported in.”

“How can we be sure that you aren’t?”

“You can’t, but I don’t have a reason to lie. The agents in question can’t say the same.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> To clarify, the woman on Earth-X reached a point where she realized there wasn't any hope for her Earth's future and that ending it all would be better for everyone. We'll see some more tidbits about her in a future chapter.   
> Do you think she has an Earth 1 counterpart? If so, who? What about the general?


	53. Chapter 53

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity explains a little bit more about Earth-X, Bucky has a theory, and elsewhere, someone's got a problem.

**The Compound**

When Felicity got back to the compound from SHIELD, she could see that there were plenty of people, most of whom didn’t look happy, waiting for her. Steeling herself, she walked into the building.

“What actually happened to Earth X? You said someone blew it up, who did it and why? Is this person a threat to our Earth?”

“How strong are your powers? And what can you do?”

“You need to undergo a skills evaluation tomorrow morning.”

“No, to all of those.” Felicity said when everyone stood waiting for a response. “I’m not answering questions about Earth X. I’m not discussing or testing my powers for your curiosity and I’m certainly not undergoing another evaluation. I don’t go into the field and I don’t owe any of you an explanation.” She kept walking.

“Oh, so the rules only apply when it suits you.”

“No, the rules apply for everyone, but there’s a caveat you’re all ignoring. I’m a consultant, not an agent or employee. I’m not on a UN recognized team or unit and most importantly, you actually don’t have a way to make me.” she turned and strolled away.

“Is that- does she have a point?”

“Yes. Everything she said was true, so we can’t make her.” Ross sighed, resigned.

Felicity was pissed by the time she finally got to her quarters. Everyone kept pestering her with questions and it was getting very old, very fast. She finally made it, and locked the door behind her before falling against it.

“Rough day?” Bucky asked.

“You could say that. I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“It was our anniversary, and my stupid Phoenix-ness got in the way of getting to celebrate.”

“He’s not upset that this happened,  he was just worried when you weren’t, well, all you.” Bucky said about Ra’s. “He’s over it.”

“Still. That happened and then we had that stupid meeting and now everyone keeps bugging me.”

“To be fair, a planet got destroyed and they found out you’re even more powerful than they thought.’

“It wasn’t the planet.” The blonde said distractedly.

“What?”

“She didn’t destroy the planet, she destroyed the whole universe.”

“She did? Wait, she?”

“Yeah, Earth-X went first, then Universe-X about a second later.” She answered. “And the person who caused it was a woman, so she.”

“You saw everything, you said you saw what happened, do you know who she is? Does she have a doppelganger?”

“Yes, she does. I’m not ready to tell you who yet. To tell anyone who it is.” Felicity said. _Everything will change._

“Was it you or Earth-X you?” Bucky asked after several moments of silence. “Actually, don’t answer that, if you don’t want me to know, I’m sure I don’t want to know.”

“A bunch of kids died.” Felicity said. “That was the catalyst. The woman, she was part of the resistance. The resistance blew up a bridge, knowing there was a school bus full of kids on it. Their leader didn’t even care. Then, the government wanted to know what happened, so they shot a bunch of civilians hoping to scare someone into giving answers.” She said this without any emotion and staring into space. “None of the other civilians even seemed upset about it. Everyone seemed dead inside and she didn’t think there was any hope left, so she decided to end things once and for all.”

“So she destroyed the world?”

“It didn’t work anymore. There was nothing about humanity that was worth saving. To her at least.” _I can’t say I disagree, having seen Earth-X._ “She became a rebel to make a better world, but the world didn’t want to be better. Humanity didn’t want to be humane. You can only keep doing the same failed thing so many times before you realize its insanity.”

* * *

 

**Elsewhere**

“Have you found her yet?” Thanos asked the Black Order. They all shook their heads.

Ever since Xandar, when the so-called Guardians of the Galaxy had stopped Ronan and handed the Power Stone over to the Nova Corp, Thanos had been trying to find Gamora. It seemed no matter how hard he or his other children tried, they always arrived at her location too late. She was his best asset for his upcoming plan, his ultimate plan, and it wouldn’t do for her to abandon his goal, their goal, at this stage. He knew she resented him, but believed, given the chance, he could make her see things his way.

“Your sister was able to find her in a matter of days. How is it you cannot?” Thanos told the others.

He hadn’t given any thought to Nebula after she betrayed him to join Ronan. That is, until he learned from a spy of his that Nebula had found, and tried to kill, Gamora. She was unsuccessful, clearly, given how she’d been seen since then, but it irked him that the daughter who betrayed him was more competent than his loyal children.

None of the Black Order members responded to his question.

“And what of her assignment? Have you in the very least been able to find it?”

“We followed the same clues Gamora did, but they have led nowhere.” Ebony Maw informed him. “It’s possible she found and destroyed something along the way to make sure no others could follow in her footsteps.”

“We need all six Infinity Stones.” Thanos reminded them. “If she’s the only way to find the Soul Stone, so be it. Find her before my patience wears thin.”

They all left, assuming they were dismissed.

The Tesseract was on Asgard. The Power Stone on Xandar. The Aether on Knowhere with the Collector. Both the Mind Stone and Time Stones were on Earth. The Soul Stone was the last piece. The last location he needed to know before he could fulfill his destiny and finally bring the universe the balance it needed. To make matter worse, there hadn’t been a sighting or even a rumor of the stone in thousands of years. Long before even his time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> So, Thanos finally makes an appearance. (If it isn't obvious yet, this story is gonna be long AF). I don't know how old Thanos actually is, so I'm going with roughly a few thousand years old.


	54. Chapter 54

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Oliver finds out some distressing news and the fact that Bucky is/was Ra's becomes known to someone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live in the land of 'if i didn't see it, it didn't happen'. Therefore, the fact that I didn't see a certain scene happen in Arrow means it didn't happen.
> 
> Also, up until now, we've seen Ra's through Felicity's eyes. We're gonna see him through someone else's now.

**Star City**

Before the Legends left 2017 to get back to what they did best, Sara wanted to make a stop in Star City to spend a few days with her dad. No one tried to argue with her about it. Time travel could after all wait a few days while she spent some time with her family. Of course, going to Star City also meant dropping in on Team Arrow, which now somewhat included Tommy. He didn’t go out into the field and appointed himself as the mascot of the team.

Sara walked into the lair as Oliver was explaining his brief time in the League to Tommy. He’d put the conversation off for months already and knew he couldn’t do that forever.

“And then?” Tommy asked.

“I kinda- with Ra’s dead, Starling was safe. So I gave your dad the ring, making him the Demon Head. Then, felicity and I went to explore the world.” Oliver said. “Then Nyssa challenged Malcolm and became Ra’s. She disbanded and then reformed the League. Someone else is Ra’s al Ghul now, I don’t know who.”

“So, the League just let you go?” Tommy asked.

“Malcolm did, yeah.”

“Wait a second, Ollie.” Sara said, interrupting the conversation. “Did Malcolm formally released you or did he just pretend you didn’t exist?” she was very worried about what she’d just heard.

“The second one. Why?”

“Because if Malcolm didn’t release you, it means by League law, you’re still a member.” Sara said. “There’s a process. Malcolm, or Nyssa, would’ve had to formally announce releasing you, and informed the other members, in order for it to be legitimate. If that didn’t happen, you’re a deserter, not a former member.”

“Ok, what are the chances this new Ra’s knows I wasn’t formally released?”

“I’d say pretty high.” Sara said. She wasn’t going to mention it to Bucky or Felicity, but the man had been Ra’s al Ghul for nearly four centuries. He knew how League law worked. “Perhaps he’s debating whether or not to release you.”

The rest of Sara’s visit was tense. Oliver and Tommy both swore to keep Sara’s revelation a secret. It wasn’t worth worrying over until Ra’s decided what to do about Oliver. Still, he spent days wondering if an assassin was going to show up out of nowhere demanding answers.

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

Felicity stared at Ra’s. Clearly, he’d been sitting on this information for a while, debating what to do with it and when. Or he was waiting for her to bring it up. In either case, they were discussing it now. Discussing Oliver, that is. A day earlier, Felicity had awoken to Ra's standing beside their bed, asking her to teleport both of them to Nanda Parbat. Bucky didn't have therapy that day, so no one was expecting him to be anywhere.

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“I thought you knew. I thought Nyssa would’ve told you.” Felicity admitted. “What are you going to do?”

“I am…undecided.”

“Why not release him?” the blonde asked.

“Are you asking as his ex-fiance or as Laila al Ghul?” He asked. She didn’t have an answer. “I will not so easily dismiss League law, even for those you or I love. He is also responsible for Darhk nearly killing you.”

“And responsible for killing Darhk. I’d say those two things are evened out.” She wasn’t dealing with Bucky, she was dealing with Ra’s. Ra’s was always more difficult to win an argument against. He followed League law as close to the letter as possible, giving him quite the reputation in the League and outside of it.

“Then, the only crime he remains guilty of is desertion.” Ra’s said. “This requires some contemplation.”

* * *

 

**New Avengers Compound**

Two weeks later, Team Arrow was at the compound for a mandatory training session. Oliver was still on edge about what Sara had said. Digg, Roy and Thea all knew something was wrong, but couldn’t get any answers out of the archer.

Oliver was going hand-to-hand with Clint Barton. He didn’t know if the sparring assignments were random or based off of a common skill. Either way, it was refreshing for both archers to practice against someone with different styles than they were used to dealing with. Barton was good, but Oliver, thanks to Slade and Ra’s, was a little better.

Later, on his way to a meeting, Nyssa and two assassins approached him.

“Al Sahim. The Demon Head has ordered your return.”

Oliver sighed. He supposed he was lucky it had taken this long. “Very well. Give me a moment to explain to my team-”

“I will inform them.” Nyssa said.

“But I-“

“Ra’s al Ghul does not appreciate waiting. I suggest you leave quickly.”

Nyssa went to where Digg, Thea and Roy were waiting. They gave her questioning looks but didn’t say anything. After some time passed, and Oliver was clearly late, they asked her where he was.

“The Demon Head ordered the return Al Sahim.”

“He was released.” Digg said. “Wasn’t he?”

“Merlyn didn’t release him. Nor did I. Therefore, by our laws, he’s still a member of the League. As far as anyone’s concerned, he’s a deserter.”

“How could you just let him go?” Thea said.

“He did not have a choice. The Demon Head only asks once and you know the penalty for desertion.” Nyssa said. “I do not believe any harm will come to him.”

“And why do you think that?”

“Because, he has known where Oliver has been for nearly a year and hasn’t acted on that information until now. And he is not my father.” Nyssa said. There was no way Felicity would let Ra’s kill Oliver either.

“Um, someone wanna fill us in?” Scott asked. Until now, they’d forgotten others were in the room. Scott, Sam, Hope, Steve, Slade and the Defenders sat there looking perplexed.

“Do not concern yourself with much matters. If you needed to know, you would.”

“The kid went and joined the League?” Slade asked incredulously.

“Yes. And now he must honor the oath he swore.”

* * *

 

**League Hideout-New York**

Oliver walked into the dimly lit room where the new Demon Head waited. Much like the time he met Nyssa’s father, the room was dark except for the light from half a dozen braziers spread throughout the room. This new Demon Head stood with his back to Oliver, seemingly waiting. He was wearing the same cloak Ra's and later Malcolm wore, yet it made this man seem bigger and even more intimidating.

“Kneel before the Demon’s Head.” a masked assassin said.

Oliver simply glared at the man. This was feeling familiar, too familiar for his liking. He didn’t want a repeat of the last time he met a Demon Head for the first time. On the other hand, he refused to kneel on principle.

The assassin that spoke prepared to attack, but Ra’s spoke. “Leave us.” The voice sounded familiar to Oliver, but he couldn’t place it. He’d definitely heard it before though. The assembled assassins bowed and left.

“Oliver Queen is dead. He is alive only in the past. Only Al Sahim remains.” Ra’s said. “That was not entirely true though, was it?”

The archer still didn’t speak, and kept trying to place the voice.

“You swore an oath of fealty to Ra’s al Ghul, to the League. Yet, you betrayed your oath and deserted your post at the first chance. Give me on reason why I shouldn’t call Asim back in and have him relieve you of your head?” Ra’s continued. “Speak.”

“Your predecessor coerced me into joining the League. When he was killed and the mantle passed to Malcolm Merlyn, I saw no purpose in staying. I believed myself to be released.”

“You were not, however. And it is my successor’s fault for not teaching you our ways better. May he suffer in the next life for his oversight.”

“You mean your predecessor. He was Ra’s al Ghul before you.” Oliver argued.

“No.” Ra’s said, finally turning around. “I mean my successor. I passed the ring to him in the 1700s. it was passed back to me after my return nine months ago.”

“Barnes?”

“I am not James Barnes. I am Ra’s al Ghul. Barnes and I share a body. His respect for you carries no weight with me.” the Demon Head said. “It is ironic, is it not? Ra’s al Ghul was reborn as Ras’s al Ghul and Laila al Ghul was reborn as Felicity Smoak.”

“You’re the Demon Head. Wait, Felicity’s bride of the demon?”

“For over six centuries.” She said from behind him.

Oliver opened his mouth to ask more questions, but was cut off.

“We have business to discuss. I will not kill you, yet I will not release you either.”

“I’m not a member of the League.” Oliver argued.

“The brand on your shoulder and your presence here beg to differ.” Ra’s said. “You are still Al Sahim. You are still Warith al Ghul, until such as time as I remove you from that position. I will not force you to upend your life as my successor did, but you will serve the League until I deem it otherwise.”

Oliver wanted to argue. If he was talking to Bucky and not Ra’s he would have. However, this Ra’s was somehow more intimidating than Nyssa’s father had been. Perhaps it was because he knew what Barnes was capable of. Perhaps it was because the League was still discussing how formidable the 16th Demon Head was centuries later. Or because Nyssa’s father once mentioned in passing that the only person he feared was his predecessor. In any case, he knew arguing wouldn’t do anything. “What is it you want from me?”

“The fealty you swore. The oath you made did not go away because the man you swore it to died. And your silence. You will tell no one of my identity or the Bride of the Demon’s, or reveal it in any other manner.” Ra’s said. “When I have need of you, you will be informed. You may go.”

“I’ll walk you out.” Felicity said, walking over to Oliver. As she left the room, the assassins waiting outside bowed to her and didn’t stop them from leaving. “I can tell you’re pissed.”

“How- you’re- you know that man in there isn’t Bucky Barnes right now, right?”

“I know. I’ve known, deep down, since we reunited. You haven’t had the pleasure of trying to make sense of six lifetimes before, so let me explain. They are the same, yet different. Just like me and Laila, or me and Shoshannah or me and Evie. The core of who Bucky is, who Ra’s is, that’s stayed the same. It took different forms.”

“And now he’s leading the League.” Oliver couldn’t reconcile that the man who would color with Sara Diggle was also the man who threatened Nyssa’s father into joining the League. Or the same man who recruited Damien Darhk.

“Who better to lead it than a man who led it for nearly 400 years?” she rebutted. “I tried to change his mind, to get him to release you, but Ra’s is stubborn in ways Bucky is not. He believes having you remain Warith al Ghul will be beneficial to you.”

“How am I supposed to know when I’m looking at Barnes as opposed to the Demon Head, then? I don’t think he wants me to mess that up.”

“His mannerisms, the way he stands, his accent. You’ll figure it out in time. If it helps, Ra’s tends to avoid the Compound as much as he can.” She answered. “You should be getting back.” 

“Who else knows? That he’s not all Bucky?”

“Sara, Nyssa, and the priestess who performed Thea’s Lazarus ceremony.” Felicity said. “You didn’t know because you didn’t need to know yet. He hadn’t decided what to do about you until two days ago.”

* * *

 

**New Avengers Compound**

When Oliver got back to the compound, his team was there waiting. Clearly, whatever Nyssa had told them had put them on edge. Thea stood and ran over to him as soon as he came through the door.

“You’re alive. Thank god.”

“Hey Speedy.”

“What happened, man?” Digg asked.

“The Demon Head didn’t kill me. He also didn’t release me. In fact, he’s refusing to.”

“So, we fight them again.”

“No, he’s not asking for what the other one was. I’m still Al Sahim, but he doesn’t seem as interested in me as Nyssa’s father was. Said when I was needed, he’d let me know. when the time was right to release me, he would.”

“And you believe him?”

“He hasn’t given me a reason not to.” The archer answered. “Sara and Nyssa both seem to trust his word.”

“So, what? You’re an occasional LOA member now?” Roy asked.

“That’s not all. I’m still Warith al Ghul.”

“What?”

“The Demon Head must have an heir.” Nyssa said stepping into the room. “Merlyn never declared one, nor did I. He means to find a more fitting replacement soon, but until then, Oliver holds that place.”

“Why Oliver? Why not you?” Thea asked.

“It is the will of Ra’s al Ghul.” Nyssa said.

An hour later, Felicity and Bucky came back to the compound. As far as anyone knew, he was exploring New York and she had some important meetings that day. The team then caught her up on everything that had happened. No one quite knew why Nyssa had a strange look in her eye as they talked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	55. Chapter 55

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Bucky talk about Ra's, Oliver tells Team Cap a little about the League, Sara Lance is her usual self and Felicity senses something.

After hearing Oliver’s retelling of what happened when he met Ra’s and the team debating what to do, Felicity was finally able to break away from the group to find Bucky. Oliver knew there wasn’t a way out unless Ra’s decided to release him, so he kept trying to assure the team that the best thing to do right now was nothing. They admitted defeat for now, but swore not to give up completely.

Felicity walked into her room to find Bucky laid out on the bed reading a book. “That was….surreal.”

“Yeah, I imagine it would be for you. It was surreal for me and I wasn’t even really there.” Bucky said closing the book. “Are you angry?”

_How can she be angry? She knows our laws. She knows what I am doing is well within my rights as Ra’s al Ghul._

_She might know, that doesn’t mean she understands._ The Soldier responded.

_I do not need her to understand, although she will, in time. The law is the law. I have already disregarded one law for her, I will not disregard another._

_What law did you disregard?_

_It does not matter._ The Demon Head answered evasively. The law he referred to was a rather cruel one, and he disregarded it not because he disagreed, which he did, but because he couldn’t bring himself to do that to Laila. 

“At you? No. I’m not even mad at Ra’s.” Felicity answered. “I just- a part of me wishes things had turned out differently.”

“Me too.” He said. “We may not be best friends, but Queen’s not a bad guy.”

“You’re right. I think he forgets that and believes things like this are payback for what happened during his time away.” She said. “There’s a million other things I wished had happened differently. Even though I’m kinda glad we didn’t meet before the war. I mean, I’m heartbroken about what happened to you and if I could, I’d go back and kill Zola myself but if we had, things could’ve turned out way worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you fell from that train, Hydra got Bucky Barnes. A loyal soldier, a good sniper but just him. if we’d met before then, you would’ve remembered your other lives-“

“And Hydra would’ve gotten Ra’s al Ghul.”

_I would have escaped them. That’s not to say I think any less of you for being unable to, James. What they subjected you, us, to was horrific._

“And Jacob, Stigr and Jehan. But yes, them getting Ra’s concerns me the most. I’m sure you would’ve escaped, but then they might’ve found out about the League. And who knows what they could’ve learned from you before your escape.”

“I guess its fate like you said. The idea of Hydra agents with League training is terrifying to think about.” Bucky said. They kissed, but after a few seconds, he pulled away. “Sorry, Ra’s is ranting about slow-roasting Hydra agents alive.”

“Well, he should stop it. I wanna have a nice, relaxing night with you and if he doesn’t shut up about torture, next time I see him, we’re gonna have a not-fun conversation and I’m gonna use my Loud Voice.”

“I don’t think that would work. He’s….your Loud Voice makes him….feel a certain way.” Bucky admitted awkwardly.

“He’s still not gonna like the conversation. So he should shut up.” the blonde said. “Now, back to kissing.”

“Yes, back to kissing.” Bucky said leaning forward to kiss her again. This time, they didn’t break apart for several minutes.

 

The next day, Oliver was still at the compound. City council was in recess for the week, so he didn’t have any mayoral duties. He had to spend some time explaining that he missed the meeting yesterday due to an obligation to ARGUS. Luckily, Lyla was caught up on the situation and backed him up, claiming he was using that time to maintain connections and contacts he’d developed while working for Waller.

Everyone he needed to convince, meaning the Council and a handful of agents, bought the story or didn’t care. Felicity predicted this was the excuse he would use and laid a digital trail backing him up. He’d managed to avoid everyone except his team the whole day. Until lunch that is. Oliver was sitting in the cafeteria, eating his chicken sandwich, when Team Cap, except Natasha, sat down in front of him.

“Where were you yesterday?”

“Who or what is the Demon Head?”

“How do you know that name?” Oliver asked.

“That woman, Nyssa, when you didn’t show up at the meeting, she said the Demon Head ordered your return.” Steve answered.

“And did you ask her what that meant?”

“She wouldn’t tell us. Said if we were meant to know, we would. Slade Wilson seemed to know exactly what she was talking about.”

“I’d listen to Nyssa. You’re better off not knowing. The less you know about the League, the better.”

“It’s the League of Shadows, isn’t it?” Clint asked. The League of Shadows was another name for the League of Assassins. Oliver didn’t know how or why this other name came to be, but he guessed some earlier Demon Head decided ‘League of Assassins’ was too on the nose. Or maybe it was chosen by a Ra’s who renounced killing. Clint heard about the League during his time at SHIELD. Fury wanted intel on them, but never managed to learn anything. Every attempt to locate the League or send someone to infiltrate it ended in death. “Thought they were made-up.”

“They’re not.” Oliver said. “It’s an ancient sect of warriors that I’ve had dealings with in the past. Their leader is called the Demon Head.” he explained to Sam and Steve who looked even more confused. “They’ve done a lot throughout history to make things turn out a certain way. They’re an army following one man blindly. Once you join, there’s only one way out.”

“And you joined them? Nyssa said you were considered a deserter.”

“I did, to save someone I love. That’s all I’m going to explain to you. I only recently found out I was still a member, so when the Demon Head demanded to speak with me, I had to go.”

“How dangerous are these people?”

“Very.”

“If they’re dangerous, why hasn’t the UN done anything about them?” Steve asked.

“For the same reason they haven’t done anything about me, all of you or the X-Men. They’re on our side, or at least enough on our side that no one sees the point in going after them.” Oliver said. He then got up and headed to the gym to work off some of his annoyance.

 

Felicity was in a video conference with Curtis, discussing the upgrades to the powercell, when her phone began to vibrate. She discreetly picked it up and saw there was a text from Sara. ‘Oliver and Nyssa are fighting each other. This is not a drill’. She wrapped up the meeting and headed towards the gym.

She ran inside to find Oliver and Nyssa fighting. Oliver was shirtless, Nyssa was dressed in  gym shorts and a sports bra. Sara was sitting off to the side with a bag of popcorn. The blonde walked up to her, wanting an explanation.

“Come for the show?”

“I thought you said they were fighting. Why didn’t you try to, I don’t know, break up the fight?”

“They are, but they aren’t gonna hurt each other that badly. And I like watching them fight, its hot.” Sara shrugged. “Thought you might wanna get in on this spectacle.”

“Oh, my god. You useless bisexual.” Felicity teased as she sat next to Sara and took some of her popcorn.

"I am what I am."

 

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly and nothing noteworthy happened. Felicity, Bucky, the Defenders, Scott, everyone who was on ‘Team Iron Man’ and Hope were sitting in the common room trying to decide what movie to watch that evening. Tony was making his argument for _Jaws_ , while Danny was arguing for _The Usual Suspects._ The arguments were starting to heat up when Felicity dropped the mug she was holding, causing it to shatter on the floor.

“You okay over there Smoakie?” Tony asked.

Felicity didn’t respond and sat there with her eyes glazed over.

“Ms. Smoak?” Vision said.

**_“Felicity? Laila? Shoshannah, what is wrong? You are beginning to worry me.”_ **

“It’s starting.” She said.

“What is?”

“The end.” She shook her head and her eyes focused once again. “Someone needs to call Strange.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> Please note in the scene with Sara and Felicity, Felicity is teasing Sara. It's a joke that isn't meant to be mean. Don't go into the comments and start calling me names.


	56. Chapter 56

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity reveals some things to the others, and the Compound gets a visitor.

“It’s starting.” Felicity said.

“What is?”

“The end.” She shook her head and her eyes focused once again. “Someone needs to call Strange.”

Five minutes later, Stephen opened a portal into the common room and stepped out. “You know it’s 4AM in Kamar Taj right?”

“Well, Smoakie went all vacant, said ‘the end is nigh’ and demanded someone call you, so….”

“I didn’t say the end is nigh. I said it’s starting. There’s a difference.” Felicity said before turning to Strange. “You’re going to have two visitors.”

“When?”

“Two months, nine days, and roughly seventeen hours from now.”

“Why see it now? Why tell me now?”

“Because until now, the visit wasn’t certain. Nor the consequences of it. It’s now inevitable, as is the end.” _Ragnarok now cannot be stopped, and it is the precursor to something far worse._

“Wait, back up a little bit.” Tony asked. “The end of what?”

“There’s a chain of events that’s been playing out for a few millennia. Dozens of seemingly random events that are all connected. We’ve now reached the point in time where this chain of events and the conclusion of it, are going to happen one way or another. We can’t stop it, only delay it a little.”

_The Mad Titan is coming._

“How much time do we have?” Hope asked.

_Worst case scenario: Thanos’ army arrives three days after Loki and Thor meet Strange._ “It’s too soon to tell. There are too many choices that haven’t been made yet. Each one affects the outcome.” _The Gatekeeper needs to be warned. The ship cannot linger to witness Asgard’s destruction. They need to run._ “But we have at least two months.”

“What did you see?” Bucky asked.

“I can’t tell you. You needed to know something was coming. It isn’t the time for you to know what that something is.” _You wouldn’t believe me if I told you._ “Telling you now would- time is a weird thing. Things need to happen in order. Explaining now would put things out of order.”

The mood for movie night had died, so everyone spilt up and went back to their own rooms.

_She’s hiding something._ Ra’s said as Bucky and Felicity went back to their room.

_Of course she is. She can see all of time and space. Everything that has, is or will happen._

_This is different. She seems resigned to what is coming. She knew about this, possibly since before this life._

It was silent as they walked and eventually, they got to their room. “How long have you known?” Bucky eventually asked. “Ra’s says you’re resigned to what’s coming. That implies you knew for a while.”

“I think I’ve always known. The Phoenix has, at least. It chose me for a reason, chose this planet and that time for a reason. This is it. I saw it….at the very beginning and I knew.” she said. “Maybe not when, but I knew it was gonna happen. Now, I know when.” _Really glad I went back to before my first life and took what I did now._

“Does this- is ‘the end’ connected to what happened to Earth-X?” Bucky asked.

“No, it isn’t.” She answered. “That world, that universe, has nothing to do with it. Besides, Universe X can’t do anything anymore. Thanks to me.”

“Thanks to you?”

“Oh, I-.” in that moment, Felicity remembered she hadn’t told Bucky, or anyone, who destroyed Earth-X. “I did it. That universe’s version of me killed her whole universe. That’s how I know what she felt, I have her memories now. I know it wasn’t me, but it was a version of me and-“ she started crying.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes it was. The Phoenix is me, and it killed them all.”

“But it wasn’t this universe’s you or this universe’s Phoenix. Our experiences make us who we are, you told me that. She had your face and she had your powers, but you didn’t live her life, nor she yours. You didn’t make the choices she did. You’re talking about a woman who lived in a hell-world and got pushed too far.”

“I can still see them. After I decide life was meaningless but before I destroyed the Earth. I can see all their faces. How scared they were. Of me.” she admitted.

_It was not her. You need to tell her that again, sergeant. Otherwise this guilt will destroy her._ Ra’s said. He didn’t like seeing her in so much pain and unable to do anything.

“She. After she decided. Before she destroyed it. They were scared of her. Not you. It wasn’t you.” Bucky said. “You didn’t do it. You aren’t her. You hear me?”

She wiped her eyes and nodded. “Thanks.”

“You never need to thank me.” Bucky said giving her a kiss on the forehead. “Now, you seem tired, so let’s go to bed.”

“Probably a good idea. My mom’s visiting tomorrow.”

“She is?” he asked. The Soldier and Ra’s had the same reaction. Donna Smoak was a force of nature, one who was still on the fence about him.

The next morning, Felicity was up bright and early getting ready for her mom’s visit. This meant Bucky was also up bright and early. To be fair, he usually woke up before her anyway. Felicity had gone into a bit of a frenzy making sure everything was clean.

“Why are you worried about your mom’s visit? Last time went fine.” Bucky wondered.

“Last time, she was more focused on me not telling her I was dating again than anything else. This time- this time you’re being judged as a potential son-in-law. It’s more important. There’s also a chance she’ll run into someone she has Strong Opinions, capitalized’, about.”

“Like who?” he wondered.

“Slade, most of ‘Team Cap’, any agent I mentioned in passing that I didn’t particularly like, my team.” She said. “She’s still real pissed about being the last person to know their identities.”

“Everything’s gonna be fine.” Bucky said as he and Felicity left their room and headed towards the communal kitchen. They arrived right as Donna and Quentin did. Her mom yelled in excitement and went to hug her, which led to the agent escorting them giving her a weird look and running away.

“Hi Mom. Quentin.” Felicity said when they broke apart. “Nice to see you.”

“You too.” Lance replied. “Sergeant Barnes.”

“Captain.” Bucky nodded. He could tell Quentin wasn’t sure about him, but he respected the fact that he didn’t try to hide it. “Good morning, Ms. Smoak.”

_I respect the fact he does not pretend to like us._ Ra’s said. _It is preferable to those within this compound, and without, who do not trust or like us but give the illusion that they do._

_Amen to that. It’s so much easier._

“Like I told you last time Bucky, it’s Donna.” She turned back to Felicity. “Now, who do I need to talk to about making you less busy?”

“Mom, I-“

“What? I hear from you every other month. When I do talk to you, we never talk about what you’re up to. You’re gonna work yourself to death.”

“My work’s very important. It helps a lot of people and does a lot of good. I can’t tell about most of it because its secret.” Felicity reasoned.

“Secret, schemcret.” She argued. “You think if you tell me I’ll get mad.”

“You probably would.”

“If I didn’t get mad when I found out your boyfriend was a 95 year old brainwashed assassin, then nothing you could tell me would make me mad. Unless you tell me you’re going back to your goth look. I love you, but it didn’t work for you.”

_Donna Smoak is a….unique woman. I have never met someone quite like her._

_Laila’s mother wasn’t like this?_

_I never had the honor of meeting her mother. Once Laila left Azerbaijan, she did not return for 50 years._

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but you know who he is?” Steve asked gesturing to Bucky.

_Why would she not know who you are?_ the Soldier wondered.

_He’s more surprised that she doesn’t hate me, I think._

“One, don’t call me ma’am. Two, his face was all over the news both before and after your little ‘Civil War’. Three, even if it wasn’t, he told me his name and I do know how Google works. Four, he’s dating my daughter, of course I’ve met him. Five, I thought you’d be taller.”

“Many people think that.” Slade said, not looking up from his coffee.

“He’s here?” Quentin asked angrily. He had hoped never to even hear Slade’s name ever again.

“It’s….a long story. Why don’t we go somewhere else and talk about it?” Felicity suggested.

“Sure, just let me tell them what I told the others. You all are full grown adults. You should be embarrassed by your actions in Romania and Germany. I hope you all thought long and hard about what happened and make sure it never happens again.” Donna said before storming out of the room.

“I see where she gets it from now.”

 

“It wasn’t my call.” Felicity told Quentin as they walked through the building. “In fact, I did everything I could to stop it. When his bloodwork and psych evals came back clean, we got overruled. Something about how he was a well-respected and dedicated agent before getting trapped on that island.”

“He’s back to normal? Mentally and physically?”

“Yeah. Normal, run-of-the-mill guy. Still has some issues, but not a threat.” she said.

“Even if he was, there’s plenty of people around here who could handle him.” Bucky pointed out.

“Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	57. Chapter 57

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky, Team Cap and Slade have a conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly Bucky, Ra's and the Soldier talking about people they're interacting with.

While Felicity and Bucky were showing her mom and Quentin around the compound, Bucky suddenly began to feel overwhelmed. It wasn’t a new or uncommon feeling for him lately. His therapist told him it wasn’t a bad thing, just that it meant he probably needed some time to himself. He excused himself and retreated to Felicity’s lab, knowing he’d be left alone there.

_Do you think they’re mad?_ He wondered.

_I don’t see why they would be. You weren’t rude about it. You didn’t cause a scene and just said you needed to go before saying goodbye. I’m guessing Felicity knew you were feeling overwhelmed anyway. Besides, if anyone understands what it’s like to feel like there’s just too much happening, its her._ the Soldier responded.

The logic was sound. Felicity had to actually exert a great deal of energy just to keep from hearing other people’s thoughts. The reason she’d go on days-long coding binges was to keep herself busy so she couldn’t see everything else that was happening in the universe. She understood better than anyone how overwhelmed someone could get.

_She is always saying you should be aware of such feelings and remove yourself from the situation if you feel you must._

_See? Even the Demon Head agrees with me. They aren’t mad._

He didn’t argue with that, and opened the book he’d left down there, starting to read. At Felicity’s suggestion, knowing he liked sci-fi, he started reading the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. He’d only read the first book in the series so far, but he loved it. He was beginning to get lost in the book when the door to her lab opened and someone walked in.

“Hey, Smoakie, I- you aren’t Smoakie.” Tony said.

“Nope.”

“What’re you doing down here then, Tasty-Freeze? And where is she?”

_This mechanic Laila has befriended is rather strange. Not in a bad or shameful way, he is just…odd. Especially his penchant for nonsensical nicknames._ Ra’s said

_Its not exactly nonsensical. We’re Tasty-Freeze because 1) Winter Soldier implies cold and 2) cryo. A little on the nose, but not random._ The Soldier replied.

_The name he calls James makes some sense. I do not understand the logic behind Colonel Rhodes being referred to as ‘Platypus’ however._

“Showing her mom and Captain Lance around, also catching up with them. And I came down here to read.” He held up the book as proof. “Didn’t wanna intrude on family time.”

“You know there are people upstairs you could spend time with, right? A certain blonde man’s been looking for you. Very patriotic, looks like a confused cat sometimes.”

“I know, its just- there’s just too much…everything sometimes. And I need space. Steve always wants to do something. And is constantly asking if I’m okay or bringing up things from before the war or worried if I’m alone, something will happen. it gets exhausting.”

_Yes, the Captain is rather….I believe ‘clingy’ is the word Laila would use._

_Well, he thought he saw us die and then spent years trying to find us. It makes sense, even if its annoying._

“Fair enough.” Tony left the room.

Felicity texted Bucky to say she, Donna and Quentin were going into the city for lunch about an hour later. By that time, he’d calmed himself enough to where he felt comfortable being around others, so he left the lab and moved upstairs. He found Steve, and Steve’s friends, in the common room along with Slade Wilson. They were in the middle of a conversation.

_He looks like an idiot with that eyepatch._ The Soldier said.

_He is fortunate to still have an eye._

_What do you-?_

_He attempted to kill my wife. The fact that he was under the influence of Mirakuru at the time and not thinking clearly is the only reason I have not sought revenge. He is on ‘very thin ice’ as one might say._

_You wanna kill him?_

_Currently, no. However if he gives any of us reason to believe he may be a threat, we should not hesitate._

A few moments after he stepped into the room, Steve noticed him and called him over. He sat down but didn’t say anything. Instead, he listened to Ra’s and the Soldier discuss everyone. The first person they commented on was Clint.

_Has been._ Bucky never knew why, but the Soldier didn’t like Clint, and liked Oliver a lot better.

_Perhaps, he is. My chief complaint about him is the foolishness of his behavior. He is making an effort to be better, but it does not erase the things he has done or justify his reasoning. I do have some sympathy. He was subject to another controlling him, just as James was._

They didn’t have a very strong opinion about Sam. They thought he was incredibly, and somewhat foolishly, loyal to Steve. Before Wakanda, they hadn’t been around Sam outside of high-stress situations, and after Wakanda, he didn’t do anything that garnered much of their attention. He spoke his mind and made his position known, but wasn’t as stubborn as Steve or combative as Clint and Wanda had been. They didn’t have an opinion about Scott either. Ra’s found his excitability irritating at times, while the Soldier found it amusing. Both appreciated and respected the courage it took for him to turn himself in and accept the consequences, whatever they may be.

They had quite a bit to say about Natasha.

_Clearly, I wasn’t a good teacher. She forgot the first thing I taught her: don’t get cocky. She’s a skilled spy, but she isn’t the only spy in the world._

_Indeed. In addition, being a famous spy is not something one should brag about. Spies are meant to fly under the radar. The best ones are never discovered or known, even after death. I must agree with Roy Harper on this one. ‘Famous spy’ means she is not good at her job._

_Is it bad I’m happy Nyssa kicked her ass?_

_Not at all. The League of Assassins has a longer history and more intense training than you would have been able to give her. it is also enjoyable when a student who has overestimated their own skill level is reminded of how much they have yet to learn. Not that I will be teaching her anything._

_I don’t even have a problem with either of those points._ Bucky thought. _I don’t understand her actions though. She’s a spy, a well-known spy for better or worse. Yet, she’s surprised no one here, except Team Cap, trusts her. Black Widows aren’t meant to be trusted, and with her files released, everyone knows that._

“What do you think, Buck?” Steve asked, getting his attention.

“What? Sorry, I kinda zoned out.”

“Is that- are you okay? Should I-?”

“Steve, I’m fine. I just wasn’t paying attention. What are we talking about?”

“When you think they’ll call us into the field.” Clint said.

“I kinda hope they never call me. I told them to only use me if they didn’t have another choice. You guys, I don’t know.”

“You don’t wanna be in the field?” Slade asked. Steve seemed about to ask the same question.

“Had enough for more than one lifetime. Some of you will probably get called up sooner than others. Not every situation calls for all of you.”

“What do you-?”

_Has he never heard of specialization? Diversification of skills. Not every skill is universally applicable._

“Assignments depend on what skills they need. If they need to gather intel or someone to do recon, they might send one or both of those two,” he gestured between Natasha and Clint, “or maybe Scott. That’s not something you’re really good at, so they wouldn’t expect you to do it. Plenty of other people have signed and not been into the field yet because their skills haven’t been needed.” Bucky's phone beeped, it was time for him to see his therapist, so he said his goodbyes and left.

“I didn’t come back to sit on the sidelines.” Steve said after Bucky left.

“So? That doesn’t mean they have to send you into the field. Being able to punch things really good isn't as useful as you seem to think.” Slade said. “That's the only skill you seem to have and it's only helpful if more aliens show up. The Council know what you can do, as little as that is, and decides when you’re needed and when you aren’t. They didn’t evaluate us just for shits and giggles. Not their fault you only have one skill.”

“They didn’t even evaluate you.” Clint argued.

“They did. You just weren’t there.” He shrugged. “They’ll probably hold off on using you anyway, because of the backlash.”

“What backlash?”

“You got pardoned and you’ve only been back for two weeks. A lot of people are still pissed. It’ll die down.”

“Can we not rehash all the mistakes we’ve made in the last year?” Sam asked. He knew this conversation would go nowhere. It didn’t go anywhere when they were on the run, and it certainly wouldn’t go anywhere now. Slade was also being an asshole, which would lead to a fight if they kept talking about this.

“Probably a good idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> If Slade seems like he's being a dick to Steve in particular, it's because he is. He (unfairly) blames Steve for the existence of Mirakuru. (If Rebirth wasn't a success, Japan wouldn't have tried to replicate it. The Mirakuru serum wouldn't exist, Ivo wouldn't have gone to Lian Yu, and so on.)


	58. Chapter 58

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has a meeting, Felicity has some news, and things get interesting

“No, I understand that the Council can’t- that’s not what we’re asking- you know what, I’ll call back when you’re less….busy.” Steve said before hanging up the phone.

“No luck?” Natasha asked.

“Nope. They won’t answer my first question for privacy reasons.” Steve had asked for more information on other Accords signees, specifically those who were labeled as non-combatants. The UN wouldn’t tell him anything since those people had a legal right to privacy. “They won’t even discuss the mission assignments, since those were clearly outlined in the Accords and we signed them. And they won’t do anything about Slade since his behavior hasn’t crossed any lines and we don’t have to like everyone we work with.”

Over the last few days, Slade’s behavior towards Team Cap had gotten more and more unfriendly. He hadn’t attacked anyone or started any physical fights, but he’d made it clear that he didn’t like them. A biting comment here or there. Bringing up their blunders at inopportune times. Hurling insults at certain members, usually Steve, Natasha or Clint. Unfortunately, the Council couldn’t do anything about what he said since he didn’t issue any threats and he tended to make one or two rude comments and leave. From their perspective, he was stating his opinion, not trying to start an altercation.

“No one said you had to like him.” Dinah Drake said from the doorway. “Meeting in conference room 3 in ten minutes.”

“About what?”

“It’s Wednesday. Bi-weekly meeting of everyone in the US who signed.” She said over her shoulder as she left. “You don’t all need to attend, but I’d recommend you all go however.”

Ten minutes later, all four of them were in the conference room waiting for the meeting to start. Tony, Strange, Hope, Jennifer, Jessica, Matt, Xavier, Logan, Melinda May, Daisy Johnson and Vision were all there. There were a handful of agents there as well. Oliver, Barry, and Lyla were attending via conference call.  Felicity and Bucky came into the room right as Ross stood up to start talking.

“Thankfully, there have been no incidents in the last two weeks we need to discuss. There also haven’t been any noteworthy changes to the Accords.” He started.

“What about the ones that aren’t noteworthy?” May asked.

“The wording to Section XII, Article IX, Subsections 2, 8, 11 and 17 have been changed. An enhanced individual in Latvia thought it was a little vague and wanted some clarification.”

“What do those sections refer to?” someone asked.

“They mostly center around getting unique weapons or other materials cleared for field usage as well as what upkeep or maintenance is required on the individual’s part as opposed to the Task Force or Council.” He answered. “The changes to subsection 2 clarified some issues non-American enhanced individuals were running into. The wording was a little biased towards the US and Western Europe.”

“Meaning?” Logan asked.

“Different countries have different laws. It was unfair that an enhanced living abroad had to choose between obeying the laws of their country or doing what we asked of them. We’ve ironed out those issues. They don’t apply to most of the people in this room, so it doesn’t matter. The updated versions have already been sent to you and posted on the Council’s website.” He answered. “Now, I believe Ms. Smoak had something she needed to report.”

“So, certain….individuals, two in fact, have apparently fallen off the face of the Earth. Right after the disaster in Sokovia.” Felicity began.

“You mean Thor and Dr. Banner.” Steve interjected.

“Yes. I’ve- one of my satelites picked up a signal. It was very faint, but it picked it up. It was an SOS of a quinjet. I think it’s the one the Hulk disappeared in.”

“Where’s it coming from?” Tony asked.

“That’s the thing. It’s coming from space. Several lightyears away. I trolled through the recordings, reading and feeds from every satellite on Earth from the day Dr. Banner’s plane went missing. There was….something inexplicable happened over the Indian Ocean right before SHIELD lost contact with it. A wormhole would be my best guess.”

“Is he- does the signal indicate he’s still alive?”  Jennifer asked.

“He’s alive.” She answered. “Thanks to some help from Sara and her team, the probes I sent out should be reached the quadrant of space I detected the signal from soon.”

 When Felicity first picked up the signal, she convinced the Legends to go back to the Ice Age and launch the probes. She figured 2.5 million years was enough time for them to travel as far as they needed to. A few people wanted to question Felicity further, but when Tony, Stephen, Hope and Xavier didn’t argue, the smartest ones in the room, they let it go. Clearly, she knew what she was doing.

The meeting then turned to boring housekeeping matters and Felicity began to tune it out. Suddenly, in the middle of Ross discussing upcoming assignment, she sat up with an alert look on her face. She stood up, walked calmly over to a panel on the wall and started typing something into it.

“May I ask what-?”

“No.” She answered as she continued what she was doing. Suddenly, a hidden drawer hissed open and she began pulling things out of it. “May, Johnson, the seven agents behind May, Bucky, Jessica, Matt, and Slade, come with me.” Everyone she mentioned stood up and moved towards the door. She handed them weapons as they walked up to her.

“What is going on?” Steve demanded.

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring. The small group left the room while everyone else was distracted. Then, her voice came over the loud speaker.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have a Code Black situation. Anyone currently inside the Compound is to stay where they are. Anyone in the halls or outside is to go into the closest secure room and stay there.” The door to the conference room locked as she was speaking.

“What’s Code Black?” Sam asked.

“It means the Compound is under attack.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	59. Chapter 59

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Compound is under attack, but who is it and why are they here? And why didn't Felicity warn anyone?

“What’s Code Black?” Sam asked.

“It means the Compound is under attack.”

“If the Compound’s under attack, we should be out there.” Steve stood and rushed over to the door. It wouldn’t budge. “We can help. Why won’t this door-?”

“Because its made out of Keltsium.” Vision said. “An alloy designed to repel nuclear blasts. No being on Earth is capable of breaking through it.”

“The Compound’s under attack?” Barry said over the phone. “I can get there in ten minutes.”

“No, you can’t.” Lyla said, sounding resigned. “The first thing the system does is crank all the power dampening up to 11. You wouldn’t have your speed, and more importantly, your healing.”

“I still don’t understand why she didn’t tell us. We can defend the Compound.”

“No one needs to defend the Compound.” Rhodey said. “The system’s failsafes have safeguards that have failsafes. We’re on a base designed by one of the smartest people alive and run by the most complex program that’s ever existed. A program only one person on Earth is capable of overriding.”

“Then why doesn’t Stark override it?” Clint asked.

“Because he can’t.” Mac announced. “He didn’t create me and thus, can’t shut me down.”

“So our only hope is a computer program, nine trained agents and a computer geek?”

“Mac’s more than just a program. And that computer geek saved the world from becoming a nuclear wasteland last year.” Oliver said.

“Ok, but why did she recruit those specific people and not all of us?”

“Too many people complicates things.” Mac said. “A small group working to defend the base has less room for error than everyone fighting and the ensuing confusion.”

“I picked the specific people for a few reasons.” Felicity said over the comms. “Given the manner both Matt and Jessica gained their abilities, the dampening tech doesn’t affect them. Bucky’s a sniper, which we might need. He and Slade are both skilled fighters. And if Slade does anything suspicious, he knows I'll sell him for parts.  Agent May and the SHIELD and ARGUS agents should be self-explanatory.”

“What about Johnson? She can’t use her powers with the dampeners on.”

“I can kick ass just fine without them.” Daisy answered.

“Mac, to ease their concerns, patch them into the security feed and secure the comm channel.” Felicity ordered. A screen lowered from the ceiling with feeds from every camera. “We’ve reached the armory and control room.”

There was a group of men dressed all in black getting out of a helicopter on the grounds. Another camera showed several armored vehicles approaching the gate. A third feed showed Felicity, Daisy and another agent in the armory. The others Felicity had grabbed were spread out throughout the building at strategic points where hallways met.

“The intruders have landed on the south lawn. They appear to have cohorts attempting to drive through the gate.” Mac told her.

“I know. The second that vehicle touches the gate, open it. Let them through and then lock it behind them.”

“Why would you let them in?”

“We weren’t able to get everyone inside before the chopper landed. There are a dozen staff members hiding on the grounds. If the intruders can’t get onto the grounds, their friends might start shooting people.” She answered. “They’re after something, I’m not giving them any hostages or leverage.”

“You’re just gonna leave the staff out there?”

“Of course not.” she said.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Of course.” Bucky said suddenly.

“What is it?”

“I count nine Hydra so far. Of the twelve people who got out of that helicopter.” He answered.

Steve started to panic. “Hydra? We should be out there. You shouldn’t have brought him to-“

“I might be blonde and pretty, but I know what I’m doing.” Felicity said. “I thought of that already, and came up with a contingency plan.”

“How could-?”

“Smoakie has a tendency to- a lot of the time, she’ll do something, not know why she does it, but it makes sense later.” Tony said. “Like when she put the control panel in here. Or the weapons cache.”

While they were talking, the Hydra members had approached the western entrance to the building. The camera was able to pick up the leaders’ conversation.

“You sure this will work?”

“I ‘talked’ to one of the agents that retired. Said because of how many people go in and out of this place, this door doesn’t have any defenses in place.” Tony and Felicity both snorted at that. It had defenses. They just weren’t on the outside of the building. “The map he gave me was a lot less helpful. It doesn’t have anything labeled.”

“You open it then.”

“Fine.” The second man said as he pushed the door open. “Man, this shit is heavy.”

He eventually got the door open and found himself in a white, windowless room. There was an empty desk behind a piece of glass, with two doors on either side of it. Both doors were wide open. Half the group went down one hallway and the rest went down the other. Eventually, one team reached a heavily fortified door.

“What do you want?” a voice asked from the ceiling.

“Now, why would we tell you that?”

“Because you aren’t getting it either way, but if you tell me, you might get to live.”

“We won’t return the favor.” He shot back. He glared at one of the men in the back. “Get to work.”

The man in question scurried forward with a laptop, connecting wires to the door’s control panel. He started typing furiously but nothing happened. “This system is- I can’t-“

“You can’t what?”

“It’s beyond my skill level. Centuries beyond. It isn’t coded in any language I know.”

 “Now, why would I program something that any old hacker could take down?” Felicity asked over the loud speaker. “That would be like asking to get attacked.”

“Open the door. Now.”

“Or what? What are you gonna do?” she wondered. “Step away from the door before the security system gets mad. You have five seconds.”

“Go fuck your-“ He didn’t finish, because knock-out gas started to get pumped into the room. A few people in the back started to pass out. Some of the others had enough time to put on gas masks and stay awake. “That’s the best you’ve got?”

“No. This is.”

An ear-piercing shriek started coming from the ceiling. It disoriented most of the agents who were still standing. As it echoed in their ears, the door opened and Jessica and two others ran into the hallway to fight them. Within a few minutes, every Hydra agent on the team was out could.

“East Wing’s secure.”

“Thank you, Laurel Lance.” Felicity had used Laurel’s Canary cry as the basis for that part of the security measures. It was non-lethal, disorienting and could easily be contained to the one area.

On the other side of the Compound, the remaining Hydra agents crept through the building. So far, Felicity hadn’t activated any of the defenses on that wing. With everyone hidden behind impenetrable doors, all they could really do is wander the halls.

“Where are you? I know you’re watching us.” Their leader said. “I really must applaud you. I don’t know how you saw us coming, but you managed to get everyone out of the line of fire. Hostages would’ve made things so much easier. Doesn’t matter, we’ll get what we want anyway.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.” Felicity said.

“Ah, she speaks.”

“I’d leave. While you still can.”

“Is that a threat? I don’t take kindly to threats.”

“And we don’t take kindly to people attacking us. This is the most secure building on the planet. You know you don’t stand a chance, right?”

“If this building is so secure, how did we manage to even make it inside? You aren’t as good as you think.”

“Maybe, or maybe you’re walking right into the trap I’ve set. I knew someone was watching us. Knew it was a matter of time before you showed up. I’ve been planning on it.”

“That’s a very foolish plan.”

“If you knew what I knew, you’d disagree.”

The commander was going to reply when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw a flash of blonde hair running in a different direction. Felicity had realized Hydra had come here for more than one reason. She left the armory and decided to make things a little more personal.

 

“What the fuck is Felicity doing?” Rhodey asked as he stared at the screen.

“Leading them on a merry chase through the Compound.” She answered. “No one knows this place better than me.”

“And if they catch you?”

“I’ll be fine.” She said.

 

Felicity ran down the hallway. “Mac, as soon as they all turn the corner, cut the lights.”

“Ms. Smoak, I-“

“Do it.” she said.

A few seconds later, all the Hydra agents had turned the corner and moved into position to grab her. Mac turned off the lights and Felicity fought her way through them. The lights came back on, as designed, thirty seconds later. Half the team was on the ground unconscious and they barely saw her running back the way she came. The remaining men chased after her.  She reached a heavily armed door just as they caught up to her.

“There’s nowhere to run.” The commander said. “Tell us what we want to know and no one gets hurt.”

She raised her arms in surrender and slowly turned around. “I’m not telling you anything.”

“Oh yes, you will.” He pulled out his handgun and aimed it at her. “I don’t wanna hurt you, but I will.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Felicity said.

“Last chance.” He said, cocking the gun. “Three. Two. One.”

He fired. Then, the rest of Hydra fired. None of the bullets hit Felicity, instead they froze in the air about a foot away from her. “You know, I really was hoping to avoid this.” she said in an irritated tone. She waved her hand and the bullets vanished, and their guns wound up stuck to the ceiling. “You should’ve left when you still could.”

“What are-?”

She swung an arm out and attacked. He wasn’t expecting the blow and went down. The others attacked, trying to hold her off. Without guns, they weren’t very useful or good at fighting. Before long, they were all knocked out on the floor.

“There’s another group coming inside.” Bucky reported.

“We’ve got it.” Slade said, referring to May, himself and Matt.

“Ok. I know what they’re after now, so I’m heading back to the armory. Meet me there when they’re dealt with.” She restrained the Hydra agents she’d taken down and teleported back to where Daisy was. Bucky, Jessica, and a few others were already there.

“How come you still have your powers?” Daisy asked.

“They don’t work like an Inhuman’s metahuman’s or mutants. They’re too strong for the dampeners to affect. They’ve never worked on me.”

“And the ability to kick ass?”

“I’ve lived a long life. I picked up a few things.”

Soon enough, Slade was knocking on the door to the armory, demanding entry.

“Of all the creatures that move about the Earth-“ Felicity began to say.

“Are you fucking kidding me? This again?” For obvious reasons, Slade hated the Odyssey. “None is bred that is weaker than man.”

She unlocked the door. “Sorry, I had to pick something you’d know that would also incite a reaction. Needed to make sure you weren’t at gunpoint. Everyone handled?” He nodded. “Mac, lift the Code Black.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	60. Chapter 60

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone deals with the aftermath of the attack, questions are answered and someone comes to a decision.

As soon as the lockdown was lifted, it seemed like everyone in the building appeared in the armory.

“Who are they?”

“What do they want?”

“Why didn’t the dampening work?”

“We’re a team, why didn’t you include us in this fight?”

Felicity shot Bucky a look, and Bucky let out a loud whistle to get everyone’s attention. “Thanks, honey. It was Hydra. I’ll explain why they came in a second. The dampening tech doesn’t work on me for the same reason it doesn’t work on Matt or Jessica, its not designed for people who got their abilities the way we did. And I didn’t include you because, while this is all one big team, you haven’t even trained together as a team and I wasn’t willing to have a team that hadn’t worked together in the field where there were real stakes and lives on the line.”

“We could’ve-“

“I’m sure you would’ve done your best, but it was too much of an unknown and I’m not risking other peoples’ lives on the chance you guys might be able to get along.” She said. “We should continue this conversation upstairs.”

Everyone went back upstairs. Lyla, Oliver and Barry were still on the phone and wanted to know what was going on. When the lockdown was lifted, everyone except Agent Hand left to confront Felicity and the trio needed to at least know Felicity and the others were okay.

“I’m fine. Everyone’s fine. The Hydra agents are in holding cells as we speak and there’s no chance of them getting out.”

“Still doesn’t explain why they were here or how you knew.”

“I sensed something bad was going to happen, so I acted accordingly.” She said. “Now, as to why they were here. Their mission was two-fold, and you can guess one of them.”

“They came for Bucky.” Steve said. “You shouldn’t have-“

“Before you yell at me for putting him at risk, why don’t you ask him how he feels about it?” she countered. All eyes turned to Barnes.

“This is far from their first attempt. Even if they were here for me, I knew they could not get to me. I know them capturing me is a big concern but I cannot and will not spend the rest of my life hiding every time they show up. I decided a long time ago to face the Winter Soldier, Hydra, all of it head-on.”

“I hate saying it as much as you hate hearing it, but they aren’t gonna stop anytime soon. There’s a faction within Hydra that believes if they get him back, all their problems will magically be solved. We’ve been aware for a while and have done everything we can when we get word about another plot to take him.”

“You said their mission was two-fold, what’s the other one?” Oliver asked.

“The playbook.”

“Uh, what is that?” Scott asked.

“It’s a file that contains all of our options in the case of a world-ending threat. Battle strategies, strike capabilities, contingency plans. Pretty much any potential threat has been thought of, analyzed and we’ve developed some kind of plan to counteract it.” she answered. It also had thorough analyses of every person who signed the Accords. Their strengths, weaknesses, psych evals and plans in case they went rogue.

“Why would Hydra want that?”

“To sell it. Or in case they want to launch something like Insight, so they’d know what our next move would be. If they know our plans, we’d have to scrap them and formulate new ones. They didn’t have a hope of getting it though.”

“Why’s that?”

“The security measures they saw were child’s play compared to what protects the playbook. It has defenses you can’t even dream of. They would’ve had better luck breaking into the White House.”

“It has all these defenses, but you know how to override them. You’re the only one.”

“I can’t override them alone. I purposefully designed the system so something like that couldn’t happen. Too much power in one person’s hands never ends well.” she said. “I take it the meeting is adjourned?”

“Yes. Questioning our ‘guests’ takes priority and I can discuss the assignment I was about to mention with the relevant people.” Ross answered.

“Great. That was a lot of excitement and I’m gonna go take a nap.”

The group dispersed and Bucky followed Felicity out of the room. When they got back to their quarters, she spun on her heel to face him. “Are you going to put Bucky back now?”

“How do you always know?” Ra’s asked.

“Because I know you and I know him. You share a body but you move differently and talk differently. Your speech patterns are very different.” She answered. “I’m guessing you took over after he saw the chopper?”

“No, he had no problems when it arrived, he trusted your preventative measures and his own progress. I took over when you placed yourself in danger to discover their motives. You should not have done that.”

“They were a threat to you, me and everyone in here. I needed to know what they were after.”

“At what cost?” He practically hissed in Arabic. “I do not care if we win a battle if you are injured in the process.”

“There wasn’t any risk. I knew what I was doing.”

“I am aware of that. It does not mean I like or approve of your actions.”

“You’re my husband, not my father. I don’t need your approval.”

“I do not need to be reminded of who I am.” Ra’s told her before walking out of the room. Bucky wouldn’t be happy about it, but he wasn’t going to be resurfacing for a few more days.

_Don’t do this._

_I must. It seems Laila has forgotten a few facts that I must remind her._

_She’s gonna be pissed about it._

_She can be as angry as she likes, it will not change my mind or sway me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	61. Chapter 61

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra's plans and Felicity tries to work off her frustration

After Ra’s had left the room following his argument with Felicity, the blonde tried to calm herself down. She never liked getting into fights with him because they usually ended in a stalemate or one of them wandering off for a few days to calm down. The issue was that they were both very stubborn and opinionated people and wouldn’t back down.

When her first attempts to get rid of her anger didn’t work, Felicity decided to head to one of the training rooms and try to work out her frustrations. She arrived to find Slade beating up a training dummy.

“Barnes isn’t here.” he called over his shoulder.

“I know.” she said.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I’m angry and I need to blow off some steam.” She said. “Wanna fight?”

“Not to be rude, but we aren’t exactly on the same level.” He pointed out. “And now that I have all my marbles, I don’t wanna hurt you.”

The fact that they weren’t on the same level was unfortunate. For Slade. “I’ll be fine. If it makes you feel better, we won’t use swords.”

“You can wield a sword?”

“It’s been an interesting two and a half years.” She said, shedding her jacket and stretching. “Are we sparring or should I find someone else?”

Slade relented and they started to spar. Less than a minute into fighting, Slade realized he had vastly underestimated Felicity’s fighting skills. She moved like she’d been fighting for decades and he wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or not. On one hand, he liked a challenge. On the other, he didn’t like losing said challenge. When Slade had to stop to catch his breath, Felicity turned around and saw they’d had an audience, probably for a while.

“What?” She asked the crowd staring at her with their mouths hanging open. Several of them fled the room, some seemed frozen in their spots.

“Nothing- we- you can do…..that?” Scott asked.

“Yup.” She turned back to Slade. “Thanks. I still don’t like you.”

“The feeling’s mutual.”

She left the room with Tony trailing after her. “Ok, I knew you were a secret, and not-so-secret, badass, but I didn’t know you could do that. What prompted you and Eyepatch to spar?”

“I was frustrated and needed to let off some steam. He was there and willing to fight me.”

“Why were you that frustrated? Wait, are you and Barnes fighting? What is that even like?” Tony asked, completely engrossed. “I mean, you can literally pull anything apart and he’s only got like three facial expressions. How does that even work?”

She didn’t answer and headed back to her lab. When she left several hours later, she still hadn’t seen or heard from Ra’s. She went to bed alone and wondered when he’d be back.

 

Ra’s left the compound following his argument with Felicity and began to formulate his plans. Clearly, there were a few things he needed to remind her, and the world, of in regards to him. He supposed it was his own fault. He hadn’t done much with the League of Assassins since his return. It was time to remedy that.

“Is there anything that seems in anyway unclear?” he asked the assassins gathered before him.

“No, my Lord.” One of them answered.

“Why are we waiting?” another asked. “We could attack now and be done with it.”

“It is the will of Ra’s al Ghul.” It was a little diabolical, his plan. Deal with his more personal problem while having the League handle the bigger, more threatening issue. Two birds, one stone as the saying went.

After he finished informing the League of their mission, and discussing some contingency plans with Nyssa, Ra’s returned to the compound. By the look of things, no one had even noticed ‘Bucky’ hadn’t been there all day. Perhaps they were simply still too on edge after the attack to worry about one missing, formerly brainwashed assassin.

_If that is the case, it is rather troubling._

_They know I’m not a threat._

_Do they? Only Laila, T’Challa, Shuri and Dr. Brown know your triggers have been removed. The rest assume you have simply learned to live with them. For all they know, you were drawn out of the compound, taken by Hydra and have been reprogrammed._

_Given the mission you just assigned the League, that isn’t realistic._

_They know nothing of plans. Nor will you tell them. I am eliminating a threat. The same threat they should have eliminated four years ago._

_You’re doing it to remind Felicity that you’re the big, scary Demon Head._

_My disagreement with Laila is irrelevant to this course of action._

_Is that why you’ve been avoiding her all day?_

Ra’s didn’t respond and headed towards his quarters. He entered to find Felicity sound asleep on the bed. He knew she would be angry at him for a while for what he was about to do. fortunately, after centuries of marriage, her anger didn’t surprise or scare him any longer. He picked her up bridal style and left the room. Since it was so early in the morning, the hallways were empty and no one saw him leave the grounds with Felicity still in his arms.

 

When Felicity woke up the next morning, she knew she wasn’t in the same bed she’d fallen asleep in. The mattress was far too soft. Before she could even open her eyes and assess the situation, someone spoke.

“I know you are awake.”

Her eyes snapped open and she took in the room around her. It was a familiar room, far too familiar. Ra’s was seated in a chair next to the bed, looking at her.

“Where are we?”

“You are a brilliant woman, Laila. I believe you already know the answer to that.”

“I do, but it doesn’t make any more sense. I know where we are, but not how we got here. How did you get me here and why wouldn’t you just ask me to teleport us to Nanda Parbat? And why are we here to begin with?”

“It is the will of Ra’s al Ghul.” He answered as he stood up. “There are some matters I must attend to. I will see you later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	62. Chapter 62

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ra's (and the League) make their move.

“There are some matters I must attend to. I will see you later.” Ra’s said before exiting the room.

Felicity was left sitting in bed wondering was exactly had just happened. first, she still didn’t know how ra’s managed to get her from New York to the Hindu Kush without her realizing it or waking up. Second, he still hadn’t explained why they had gone to the home of the League of Assassins. Something being ‘the will of Ra’s al Ghul’ was an excuse, not an explanation.

Deciding to go alone with Ra’s scheme for now, Felicity got out of bed and changed. Everything was exactly the way she’d left it during their last visit to Nanda Parbat. She changed into something more appropriate for ‘Bride of the Demon’ and opened the door. There was a guard stationed on each side.

“My Lady.”

“What is going on?”

“I am unsure what you mean.”

“Something is going on, I can feel it. What don’t I know?”

“The Demon Head would be the ideal person to ask.”

“Where is he then?” Felicity was getting annoyed at not getting an answer.

“I’m afraid he informed us not to tell you.”

“Of course he did.” She scoffed. She closed her eyes and concentrated. When she opened them, she was standing in a decrepit warehouse. Six men were on their knees, restrained in front of Ra’s. He noticed her and she dragged him away from the prisoners. “What on Earth are you doing?”

“Purging the world of evil, my love.” He said matter-of-factly. “The very reason the League of Assassins was created.”

“Right. You’re doing this just because it is the League’s way, not because you want to or anything.” She understood why Ra’s would want to destroy Hydra, and she wouldn’t have any issue with him doing so. She just wanted him to admit this was a tiny bit personal and not ‘just business’.

“Occasionally, the things we must do and the things we want to do are one and the same.” He said. “Although, I will admit I expect to find a great deal of enjoyment from this.”

* * *

 

**New York**

Steve left his mandatory therapy session and went looking for Bucky. He had passed his psych evaluation, but some were concerned about how poorly he seemed to be adjusting to life in a new century, so the Accords Council required him to meet with a therapist to discuss how he was adjusting and any lingering feels of depression about falling asleep in 1944 and waking up in 2012.

He searched every part of the building he had access to and came up empty handed. He ran into Nyssa, who he knew was friends with Felicity, and asked if she knew where Bucky was. She cryptically told him that ‘Sergeant Barnes has been called away’, and he didn’t know what that meant, since Bucky didn’t take missions unless he had to and no one higher up knew where he was.

It was a little before 7pm when strange things started to happen at the Compound. Seemingly in the span of a few seconds, two different alarms went off. The first prompted several members of the security team to rush towards the security center. The second caused someone to come over the loud speaker and inform everyone they weren’t to leave whatever room they were currently in until another announcement was made. An all-clear was announced a few minutes later. Steve was curious, but didn’t ask any of the guards what had happened, he was sure he’d get more information from either Tony or Hand. Five minutes later, another alarm went off.

The third alarm was still in effect an hour later when there was another announcement, telling everyone to meet in the cafeteria. Victoria Hand surveyed the entire room for a solid two minutes before she began speaking. “I know you’re all curious what the hubbub earlier was about. Since we believe in transparency, I’ll tell you what I can. Approximately an hour ago, a prison transport vehicle arrived to take our ‘guests’ downstairs to a more secure facility while they await trial.”

Natasha had been talking to Hand when the transport arrived, trying to make amends for the Project Insight fiasco. The redhead was asked to help with security while the prisoners were being escorted to the bus since the UN wasn’t expecting any issues. When she saw the driver, she got began to feel déjà vu, although she couldn’t explain why.

“The first alarm was the arrival of an unknown vehicle meant to alert security. Th second one was to ensure no issues while we were moving everyone. The transfer of the prisoners from our holding cells to the prison bus went smoothly with no problems. As soon as the bus cleared the gate, it exploded. We’re unsure how or why, but someone sabotaged the bus. We put the building on alert while we searched for survivors and any other devices. We found no other explosives and all the prisoners were killed. The driver was killed as well and one guard is in critical condition. We aren’t expecting him to make it.”

Both the guard and the driver were members of the League. The driver had recently been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The guard had lost a family member to Hydra a few months earlier. Both had volunteered for this assignment and were more than happy to die to complete it.

“Do you have any ideas as to why this may’ve happened?”

“Well, they were Hydra. There are plenty of people who would want revenge, although we aren’t aware of any who are willing to go to these extremes. The UN is sending a special team to investigate.”

“That’s awfully convienent.” One of the staff members Steve didn’t know said.

“In what way?” Hand asked, having heard him.

“Hydra attacks, they get captured. They’re on their way to jail when they get killed. Almost like someone doesn’t want them going to court or getting questioned.”

“You suspect Hydra is behind this?”

“I’m saying its possible. and it wouldn’t be the first time they killed one of their own to keep things quiet.”

* * *

 

**Star City**

Oliver was out on patrol when he was tipped off about a fight happening by the docks. He rushed over there to find Nyssa and two other League assassins attacking two men. He tried to intervene but was kept at bay until their two targets were dead.

“My apologies, Al Sahim.” Nyssa said. “Your assistance would’ve been appreciated but the Demon Head did not want you involved.”

“Involved in what?”

“The destruction of Hydra.”

* * *

 

**Nanda Parbat**

After Ra’s killed his prisoners, and he and Felicity returned to Nanda Parbat. She was still annoyed with him for not telling her his plans or talking with her first. she wasn’t sure if he was doing this to purge the world of evil, satisfy his own thirst for vengeance or to prove a point to her. Perhaps it was a combination of all three.

“You are angry.”

“I don’t like it when you decide things without consulting me.”

“It is the will of Ra’s al Ghul. You are Bride of the Demon. I do not require your approval to command the League of Assassins.”

“You don’t require it, no, but in the past, you’ve always talked to me first, told me your plans.”

“That was centuries ago. The world has changed, you have changed, as have I.” He stated.

“So my opinion doesn’t matter anymore.”

“You are putting words into my mouth. I value your opinion, as I always have, but it will not change my mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> This chapter shows the actions, the next one or two will show the reactions/consequences


	63. Chapter 63

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Taskforce deals with the fallout of what happened, Ra's stands by his decision and Thanos is still out there, in case anyone forgot.

“So, what? You’re going to kill every Hydra agent you find?” Felicity asked Ra’s.

“Yes. I am glad we are on the same page.”

“And what happens when someone figures it out? When some agency works out that someone is exterminating Hydra?”

“Nothing, because by the time they realize what is happening, it will be too late.” The League had assassins all over the world. They were launching a coordinated, world-wide attack. One country might work out what happened soon, but it would be a while before they shared what they found with the neighbors. The intelligence community worked the same way. Agencies were willing to work together, but they always moved slowly when that happened. Exchanging information and sharing leads took time, which Ra’s used to his advantage.

“What about the Hydra members you can’t get to? The ones already in custody?”

“Prisons are remarkably easy to infiltrate if you recall.” He responded. “And I have assassins everywhere. Not even the scum being held at the Compound are untouchable.”

“Please tell me you aren’t stupid enough to order an attack on the Compound. You might be the big, scary Demon Head, but my tech can beat you.”

“Fortunately, an attack on the facility was not necessary. Not when the UN provided another, and less complicated, alternative.”

* * *

 

**New York**

Agents Ross and Hand were waiting in the hospital wing in case the guard on the prison bus made it through the night. They wanted to talk to him as soon as possible and get as much information as they could in case he died.

“He’s awake.” One of the doctors said, coming into the waiting room. “I don’t know how much you’ll be able to get out of him, but he’s awake and lucid.”

The pair went into the room and found a heavily burned and bandaged man laying in one of the beds. His eyes snapped open when he heard them approach. A nurse was giving him a shot of some kind, but she left when the two agents arrived.

“Mr. Nasir, my name is Agent Hand, this is Agent Ross. I’m not sure if you remember, but we met last night.” Victoria began to say. “We’d like to talk to you about what happened during the accident.”

“Karma happened.”

“The accident wasn’t an accident?”

“And the world is better for it.” Nasir said before he started to convulse. The two agents were forced out of the room as a team of doctors rushed in to try and save his life. Their efforts were in vain and he was declared dead a few moments later.

The nurse who’d been in his room stood further down the hallway and began muttering under her breath in Arabic. The Pit Viper venom she’d injected into him had taken effect and he was dying. Still, the words needed to be said. “Forgive and have mercy upon him. Excuse him and pardon him. Make honorable his reception. Protect him from the punishment of the grave and the torment of the fire.”

* * *

 

**Star City**

“Why would the Demon Head want to eliminate Hydra?” Oliver asked Nyssa.

“I think the fact that’s Hydra is explanation enough. They also imprisoned and tortured the Demon Head for over 70 years. They attacked his home. Hydra agents could’ve hurt his wife. All of those spurred him into action.”

“Barnes. They tortured Barnes, not Ra’s for 70 years.”

“The line separating the Demon Head and Barnes is not as distinct as you believe.”

“Why didn’t he tell me? Or Felicity?”

“You did not need to know.”

* * *

 

**New York**

Three days later, while the investigation about the ‘accident’ was still going on, Felicity and Ra’s returned to the Compound. Several people had asked where they were, but they avoided the question. They weren’t suspects for the bombing, so no one needed to know. Felicity told everyone the attack by Hydra unsettled Bucky and they decided to go away for a few days. After she told Steve that, he pulled ‘Bucky’ aside.

“I never asked, because too much happened afterward, but Hope told me you think you’re a reincarnation?”

“I don’t think, I know, Steve.” Ra’s said trying as hard as he could to mimick Bucky’s speech pattern and mannerisms.

“How-? I’m not saying I don’t believe you but-“

“It sounds crazy? I know. I had these dreams, well they weren’t dreams, they were memories. Memories of my past lives.  I didn’t really have an explanation. Then, I met Felicity, and it all kind of clicked.”

“You knew her in a past life?”

“In more than one. I met her in several of my past lives.” He admitted.

“Well, I guess after everything I’ve seen, everything we’ve been through, that shouldn’t be surprising. That’s gonna take some time to wrap my head around.”

“Yeah, reincarnation is a hard pill to swallow.” Felicity said walking up behind them.

They were pulled into a meeting with the others a few hours later. Agents Ross and Drake all looked exhausted and unhappy. The last few days had been rough on them and the investigation was going nowhere.

“As some of you know, the guard who was on the prison bus died shortly after the explosion. What he said when we spoke to him was concerning to say the least.”

“In what way?”

“He indicated what happened wasn’t an accident.”

“Was there reason to believe it was?”

“The team investigating reconstructed the bus. They didn’t find evidence of any explosives. The only explanation they could come up with was a mechanical failure.”

“What kind of mechanical failures cause a bus full of people to explode?”

“They’re still investigating, but they believe a piece of metal in the undercarriage broke off and was dragged along the ground. This ignited a spark that caused the fuel tank to explode.”

“I hope they realized how unlikely and ridiculous that sounds.” Tony remarked. Several people shot him looks. “What? The chance of those exact events happening, and no one noticing, and it all happening here, with those people, it’s statistically impossible.”

“Statistically impossible as it may be, that’s the only explanation there is so far.” It would be a few more days before they learned of the other Hydra agents killed all over the world in the last few days.

“How did you manage this?” Felicity asked as she and Ra’s headed back to their room.

“Nasir was an expert mechanic.” He answered. “My job is done for the moment. Until next time, my love.” He blinked and shook his head. When his eyes reopened, Bucky was back. “I’m sorry, I- he took over. Can’t say I’m upset with what he did though.”

“Me neither. But I’m glad you’re back.” she said smiling.

* * *

 

**Outer Space**

A few light years away from Earth, Nebula had a long-time acquaintance of Thanos pinned to a table with an arm twisted behind his back. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

She twisted his arm further, causing more pain to shoot through his body. “Now, why don’t I believe you?”

“Ah! Kelna. I know a guy who knows a guy who saw him there.” He finally confessed.

She released his arm, but shot him before he could run away. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

In another region of space, a huge ship loomed over a small planet known to very few.

“Your incompetence is beginning to wane on me.” Thanos said after Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian returned with no traces of Gamora or theories about where she was. “Your traitor of a sister found Gamora once. Why is it impossible for my loyal children to do the same?”

Nebula only found Gamora because she knew where Gamora was before she started looking. Not that Thanos or his children knew that.

“What of the Stone?” Thanos asked the other pair.

“We have not discovered its location yet.” Ebony Maw answered.

“Then why are you here? Do not return to me empty-handed again.” He said. They all left, returning to their respective assignments. Thanos returned to the planet below, prepared to kill half the population.

* * *

 

**New York**

Felicity woke up out of a dead sleep. In her sleep, her mind had wandered and she let her shields down. The Phoenix Force reached out through the cosmos and encountered something. Something it hadn’t crossed paths with in thousands of years, Thanos. She now knew his plans, how he’d progressed, everything he knew. He didn’t know where the Soul Stone was, but thought he knew who did. His suspicions were wrong, but that was beside the point. The fight was coming, it was getting closer every day.

“This might require back-up.” The blonde said getting out of bed. “Let’s hope Barry and Cisco are still awake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	64. Chapter 64

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity sets her plans to defeat Thanos in motion

Felicity woke up out of a dead sleep. In her sleep, her mind had wandered and she let her shields down. The Phoenix Force reached out through the cosmos and encountered something. Something it hadn’t crossed paths with in thousands of years, Thanos. She now knew his plans, how he’d progressed, everything he knew. He didn’t know where the Soul Stone was, but thought he knew who did. His suspicions were wrong, but that was beside the point. The fight was coming, it was getting closer every day.

“This might require back-up.” The blonde said getting out of bed. “Let’s hope Barry and Cisco are still awake.”

Felicity called Barry and Cisco. They didn’t answer so she kept calling. Eventually, they couldn’t ignore the incessant sound of the phone ringing and answered it.

“You both need to get to New York. Now.” She told them before hanging up the phone.

A few moments later, Mac registered intruders in Felicity’s lab. Cisco had breached them in. She teleported to her lab to talk with them.

“Wanna explain why you woke me up at 2AM?” Cisco asked angrily. “I was dreaming about penguins.”

“The universe is in danger. Your penguin dream can wait.” She said as she walked over to a whiteboard and started writing.

“In danger? What kind of danger?”

“The kind that I’ve been trying to defeat for over 2000 years. The kind that could possibly kill half of the universe.”

“But you only called us. Why isn’t the entire building on high alert, why aren’t we at like Defcon 5?” Barry asked.

“Dude, Defcon 5 means everything’s fine. Defcon 1 is the ‘oh shit’ rating.” Cisco pointed out. “I can’t argue with his other question.”

“Because the threat is still months away. And I only need you two right now.”

“Ok, but again, why us?”

“Because you can travel to other Earths. There are people on Earth-2 or Earth-19 or Earth-38 whose help we’re gonna need.” She said as she kept writing. “You need to talk to them.”

Thanos had to know others were aware of what he was doing. Plans were being made to stop him, which he was no doubt aware of. However, Thanos only had knowledge of this universe. He didn’t know about the multiverse or what beings existed in them. Krypton, for example, never formed in this reality, so Superman and Supergirl would be unknown variables to him. Calling in outside help might not be necessary, but Felicity believed in stacking the deck to improve her odds.

“Aren’t you supposed to be like some crazy powerful being? Can’t you travel to other Earths or contact them somehow?”

“I can’t leave this universe. It’s one of the few things I cannot do. But I suspect my equivalents on other Earths are expecting your arrivals.” She capped the marker and put it down. “Here’s the list.”

Felicity’s list was separated by parallel Earth.

Earth-1

  * Carol Danvers



Earth-3

  * Barda Free
  * Scott Free
  * Jay Garrick



Earth-9

  * Reed Richards
  * Sue Storm
  * Johnny Storm



Earth-17

  * Diana Prince
  * Bruce Wayne
  * Clark Kent
  * Dinah Lance
  * Arthur Curry
  * Hal Jordan



Earth-22

  * Bobby Drake
  * Wanda Maximoff
  * Emma Frost
  * Nate Summers
  * Jean Grey



Earth-38

  * Kara Danvers
  * Alex Danvers
  * J’onn J’onzz
  * Donna Troy



“Okay, two things. One, Bruce Wayne exists on this Earth and Clark Kent exists on Earth 38. Two, you have someone from Earth-1 listed.”

“Yes, but Earth 38’s Clark Kent is less powerful than Earth 17’s. And if we take both Superman and Supergirl off of Earth 38, the people there will be defenseless. The list is the most powerful or strongest versions of each person.”

“And this Earth’s Carol Danvers?”

“I need to find her. You worry about the other Earths.”

“What are we supposed to do? Breach to Earth 3, say ‘Earth 1’s in trouble, come help us’?”

“No. Go to Earth-3, find Earth-3 Felicity, and talk to her. I exist, as Felicity Smoak, in every universe.” she said. “Go, now.”

Barry and Cisco knew they were missing something, but decided not to argue with her. When they were gone, Felicity looked back at her list. The way things currently were, Thanos was unlikely to win, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cause a massive amount of destruction along the way. She only had one person she needed to find, but her target might be the hardest to locate.

“Where in the universe is Captain Marvel?” She wondered aloud.

**Vormir-101BC**

The Soul Stone lay dormant, waiting to awaken, in the ruins of the temple on a planet with no living beings. Suddenly, it awoke, as if by magic. It was time for the Stone to leave this place. It needed to be found, and it could not be found here. The Soul Stone had a will of its own, and it was tired of being hidden away. Now was its chance.

It soon found itself on a small planet no other worlds knew of. A tiny blue and green world that called itself Earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> I've decided the Soul Stone is like the One Ring and has a mind of its own


	65. Chapter 65

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Cisco travel to different worlds and try to get help. They meet some familiar faces along the way.

**Earth-3**

Cisco and Barry stepped through the breach onto Earth-3. Felicity’s game plan had made things sound so easy. Go to another Earth. Find that Earth’s version of her. Then, everything would be fine. The explanation was simple; the practice was not.

For one thing, they weren’t sure how they were supposed to find Felicity-3. They also didn’t know how to explain whatever this oncoming threat was, since Felicity hadn’t told them.

Cisco and Barry arrived in an abandoned building in Central City on Earth 3. The least attention they attracted the better.  They walked outside and were heading towards this Earth’s equivalent to Star Labs when a voice called out to them.

“You could go that way,” Felicity-3 said, leaning against the building, “or you can follow me and we can get this part of your trip over with. You’ve got four more Earths to visit, if I’m not mistaken.”

“How do-?”

“You wanna talk about my powers or do what you came to do?” She asked as she walked off in the other direction. They stared after her for a moment. She was like their Felicity, except less prone to babbling it would seem and less patient. 

She led them to what looked like a museum, except it didn’t have any exhibits. She led them through three different security checkpoints before they entered what looked like a conference room. Two people Barry didn’t recognize, and Jay Garrick, sat at the table.

“Flash.” Barry greeted the other speedster.

“Flash.” Jay returned. “This is Scott Free and his wife Barda. What’s this about Ms. Smoak?”

“Earth-1 is in danger. My counterpart there has been keeping an eye on the situation for several centuries. It’s become clear now that there is no avoiding it.” Felicity-3 said. “She’s sent them to gather allies on other Earths. Ones she thinks will give them the best chance of defeating this threat. You three were the ones she selected for this universe.”

“What’s the threat?” Barda asked.

“And how imminent?” Scott asked.

“We don’t know. Felicity, our Felicity, didn’t go into many details.”

“Nor should she. Knowing your own future is a dangerous thing.” Felicity-3 said. “Can Earth-1 count on you to fight alongside them?”

“Yes.” Jay answered, speaking for everyone.

* * *

 

**Earth-9**

After Earth-3, they went to Earth-9. Cisco decided it was easier to just go in numerical order for this. They stepped through the portal and found Felicity-9 and Bucky-9 on the other side.

“Your prediction was dead-on.” Bucky said.

“My predictions are always right.” Felicity responded. “Come on, I’ve already talked to the three you wanna see, given them some info, but you should do most of the talking.”

“Talking? But we don’t even know what this is-.” Barry began to argue.

“You don’t need to. they’re gonna agree, you just need to ask, saying your universe is in danger.” She said as she kept walking.

Barry and Cisco followed them to a large skyscaper and took the elevator to the top floor. There, they met Sue Storm, her brother Johnny and Dr. Reed Richards.

“Smoak says there’s a threat to your Earth?” Sue said.

“Yes. We’d like- we think we’re gonna need your help. I know its not your Earth, but if-“

“You don’t need to give us a sales pitch. We already agreed.” Johnny said.

* * *

 

**Earth-17**

On Earth-17, they found Felicity’s doppelganger once again. This time she took them to a building she called the Hall of Justice, which looked an awful lot like a Star Labs annex on Earth-1. As they entered the room, Felicity-17 started introducing them to people.

“This is Bruce Wayne.”

“Batman.” Wayne corrected.

“Same thing.” She rolled her eyes. “Superman aka Clark Kent. Diana Prince or Wonder Woman. Arthur Curry, Aquaman. Hal Jordan, Green Lantern. And-“

“Laurel Lance.” Barry finished.

“I go by Dinah, actually.” Cisco and Barry both froze in their spots staring at her. “Why are-?”

“Oh, this is- I forgot.” Felicity-17 said apologetically. “I should’ve- I should’ve warned you.”

“Warned them about what?” Dinah asked.

“Laur- our Earth’s Dinah Laurel Lance. She died about a year ago. We didn’t-” Cisco finally managed to say. “We should definitely warn Sara.”

“Who’s Sara?” Dinah asked.

“Let’s get back on topic.” Felicity said. “Earth-1 is facing an imminent threat. There’s no indication that this threat won’t effect this Earth. Their Felicity believes stopping this catastrophe on Earth-1 will stop it from spreading to the multiverse.”

“What is the threat?” Batman asked. “I know they don’t know, but you do.”

Both visitors turned to Felicity-17. “You know?”

“Yes. I know what you face, just like I knew you were coming here.” she answered. “And you’ll know when, and only when, you need to know.”

“That’s not vague or anything.” someone said from the doorway.

Everyone turned.

“No way.” Barry said.

“Ok, so you see him too.” Cisco remarked.

“Hi, nice to meet you.” the man in the doorway said moving forward with a smile. “Oliver Queen.”

He had the same face as their Oliver. Judging by the way he was dressed, he was this universe’s Green Arrow, but those were the only two things Oliver-17 and Oliver-1 had in common.

“Hah, Sara and Tommy owe me money.” Cisco laughed.

“Why would-?” Oliver-17 started to say.

“Sorry, we know you. Well, we know Earth-1 you. And that you is a little less….smiley.”

“Way less smiley.”

“More like him.” Felicity-17 clarified, pointing to Batman. “Some people had a bet going on whether a non-broody Oliver Queen existed in the multiverse.”

“Oh.”

* * *

 

**Earth-22**

The visit to Earth-22 was short. That Earth’s Felicity took them to a mansion in upstate New York where they met the X-Men. Unlike Earth-1, Charles Xavier either didn’t exist or was no longer living. The members of the X-Men were slightly different too. the biggest surprise was that Wanda Maximoff of Earth-22 didn’t look, sound or act like the Wanda Maximoff from Earth-1. Felicity-22 explained that they weren’t doppelgangers, just two people with the same name and oddly, similar powers.

* * *

 

**Earth-38**

Earth-38 was the last stop. Barry was glad their last trip was to an Earth he was familiar with. He knew one of the people he needed to find and hoped explaining things to her wouldn’t be too difficult. They breached to an area outside of National City and Barry sped both of them to Kara’s apartment.

“Barry? what are you doing here?” Kara asked as she opened the door milliseconds after they arrived. X-ray vision certainly made it easier to deal with surprise visitors.

“We need your help. Actually, my Earth does.”

“What’s happening? What’s going on?”

“Nothing yet. But something’s coming.” Barry said. “Could we come inside? And could you call your sister? There are two others we need to talk to, but we have to find them first.”

“Who?”

“J’onn J’onzz and a woman named Donna Troy.”

“I might be able to help you with one of them.”

Explaining things to Alex, Kara and J’onn was easier than Barry expected. Donna Troy showed up right before they started talking, saying Felicity-38 told her to show up there on this day at that very specific moment.

“And you didn’t think that was weird.”

“Felicity knows what’s gonna happen before it happens. After a few years, you get used to it.”

* * *

 

**Earth-1**

After Barry and Cisco departed, Felicity locked herself in her office and dropped her mental shields. If she was going to find Captain Marvel, she needed her mind to be well and truly open. It became loud, almost deafening, in her head, but she ignored the discomfort and tried to focus.

As her mind reached out across the cosmos, she felt something that didn’t make sense. A mind that seemed both human and alien at the same time. Curious, she teleported herself to where the mind was. She opened her eyes and found herself on an alien planet. There was a blonde woman, taller than her. standing there with her back to Felicity. Felicity let out a gasp at traveling so far from Earth, causing the woman to turn and discharge a blast of energy at her. She absorbed the energy, much to the other woman’s shock.

“What are you?”

“Before I answer, your name wouldn’t happen to be Carol Danvers, would it?”

“Who’s asking?”

“The Phoenix.” Felicity answered. “I’m here about Thanos.”

“I don’t have anything to do with-.”

“He’s getting ready to make his move. I know why you left Earth. And I understand if you never want to go back, but Earth, hell this whole universe, its gonna need your help.”

“Why does it need me when it has the Phoenix Force?”

“We all have roles to play. I have a very specific one.” she said. “And I’m not a fan of divine intervention.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	66. Chapter 66

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Carol have a conversation, Earth gets a surprising visit and they're running out of time.

“We all have roles to play. I have a very specific one.” Felicity told Carol Danvers. “And I’m not a fan of divine intervention.”

“What do you mean by ‘divine intervention’?”

“I’m one of the most powerful beings in existence, if not the most powerful. Do you really think I couldn’t stop Thanos if I wanted to?” She asked. “Or better yet, why didn’t I stop this whole thing from happening to begin with?”

“What? You didn’t want to?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to stop him, stop his plans. If I didn’t want to stop him, I wouldn’t be putting the dream team together. The reason I didn’t stop him, the reason I haven’t and the reason I won’t just wave this whole problem away is because it needs to happen. This fight needs to happen.” she explained. “And I hate to break it to you, but you’re going to be a part of it whether you like it or not.”

“if I don’t have a choice, what was the point in asking me to join you?”

“I said you were going to be a part of it, that didn’t mean you didn’t have a choice. Because your part goes one of two ways. You help us fight Thanos or you’re his first target once he has the Power Stone. Because his world thought I was just a myth, so I’m not even on his radar and knowing what he knows about you already, you’re gonna try to stop him. You win by taking out your strongest opponent first.”

“The US government isn’t going to react well to me coming back. I didn’t exactly leave things on the best terms.”

“Yeah, that tends to happen. Especially when the US military and an unknown, powerful being are involved. The team we’re building operates through the UN, so there should be less awkwardness by default. And if it makes you more comfortable, I can grab you right before you’re needed and just ‘forget’ to tell them you signed on.” Felicity shrugged. “I’m kinda absent-minded like that. There’s so much going on in my head that sometimes I forget to tell people things.”

“How much do you know about Thanos’ plans?” Carol asked.

“He wants to use the Infinity Stones to destroy half the life in the universe. He’s been planning it for a while. He knows where the Space Stone is. He’s known for years about the Power and Mind Stones. He only recently learned where the Time Stone is and the Reality Stone was locked away from millennia, until a woman from Earth found it. He hasn’t acted yet because he’s waiting on a very specific event to happen. The Soul Stone is the only one he hasn’t managed to locate yet, but he thinks he knows someone who has.”

“Thinks?”

“The last confirmed sighting of the Soul Stone, last time someone laid eyes on it, was 2000 years ago. Plenty of people have gone on a wild goose chase since then, none of them have ever found it. Thanos may be dedicated to his cause, but he hasn’t come any closer to finding it than anyone else.” Felicity explained. “So, now that you know the situation, you in or what?”

“I’m in. And I’m coming with you.”

“Good. One thing though, the others know there’s a threat coming, but they don’t know what it is. They can’t know what it is yet.”

“Why not?”

“Would you have joined the Air Force if you knew what would happen to you? No one should know too much about their own future.”

 

Felicity teleported herself and Captain Marvel back to Earth. She explained to a select few UN officials who Carol was and why she was needed for the coming threat. She expertly dodged questions about said threat. After getting Carol squared away, a meeting was called for everyone working with the UN. Felicity arrived a little late and found most of the room glaring at her.

“The threat that’s coming, what is it?”

“I can’t tell you that.” She answered.

“Why not?”

“No one’s supposed to know their own future. Or just the future period. Tony, would you have gone to Afghanistan if you knew what would happen? Do you think Oliver and Sara would’ve gotten on the Queen’s Gambit if they knew? Do you think Bucky would’ve gone on that last mission during the war? Would Banner have proposed that experiment?” She asked. “Knowing what events are going to happen and how they are going to unfold impacts how those things happen. It can change how those things happen, creating either a paradox or a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“If that’s true, why do you get to know?” Clint asked.

“Because her future isn’t affected. It’s not, is it?” Ray asked. “Whatever’s coming, whatever this big threat is, you already know you survive.”

Ray’s suspicion was right. In order for future Felicity to leave her the message and the particles to create the Waverider, it meant the present Felicity couldn’t die before recording that message and leaving it for herself. She wasn’t going to admit that though.

“It’s not that. I reincarnate, most of you don’t. So, even if I knew about my own death, and I’m not saying I do, I know I’ll come back.”

“So, you’re not gonna tell us anything.” Steve remarked.

“You’ll know when you need to know.”

The next month and a half consisted of the Avengers, the Defenders, Team Flash, Team Arrow, the Legends and every other person working with the UN preparing for the fight that was coming. They trained. They discussed battle strategies and contingencies. Barry and Cisco made regular visits to other Earths, keeping their allies up to date.

Then, one day in mid-September, they were having an All-Hands meeting when Dr. Strange portalled into the room, looking panicked.

“’I had two visitors today.” He announced.

“I told you that you would understand when the time came.” Felicity said. “And did you send them on their way?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Felicity said, standing up. “Move the threat level to 4. We’re getting close, but we aren’t out of time yet. Barry, get the word out that we’re on standby.”

For two days, things were tense at the Compound. People were waiting for an alarm to sound or an imminent threat to arise. Everyone was jumpy and every time Felicity so much as moved, people jumped. On the third day, Felicity was sitting on one of the couches, eating a bowl of ice cream when it happened.

One minute she was there, the next she was gone and the bowl of ice cream shattered on the floor when she vanished.

 

Light years away, Thor, Hulk, Heimdall and the Asgardians were watching from a spaceship as Surtur battled Hela. The gatekeeper was turning to say something to Thor when he found a shorter blonde woman right in his face.

“Fly! Now! Don’t stop, don’t slow down, don’t stay and watch.” She screamed. “GET THIS SHIP TO EARTH RIGHT NOW!” Her voice took on an almost supernatural quality when she yelled.

Nanoseconds later, the ship’s computer turned on and announced, “Jumping to warp speed in three….two….one.” The spaceship vanished and Asgard was destroyed without anyone to witness it.

 

On Earth, Felicity reappeared. “An alien spacecraft is going to enter Earth’s atmosphere in approximately six seconds. Do not fire at it. Thor, Dr. Banner and the surviving Asgardians are on board.”

Thor, Hulk, Loki, Heimdall and a woman named Brunhilde, who Thor described as a Valkyrie, were escorted off of the ship and into the compound where the others were. Many people were glaring at Loki, Thor seemed very confused and Hulk turned back into Bruce Banner. Heimdall saw Felicity and recognized her.

“You told us to run, why?”

“The destruction of Asgard has far reaching implications. And, as I’m sure one of you knows, the Tesseract was supposed to be on that planet.”

“Supposed to be? It was. It was destroyed with the rest of Asgard.” Thor insisted.

Felicity rolled her eyes and looked in between Thor and Brunhilde. “Do you wanna just come out and admit it or are you gonna force my hand?”

“I don’t know what game you’re playing-.” The new king of Asgard insisted.

“You know, we have a phrase here on Earth. It’s goes ‘liar, liar, pants on fire’.” Felicity explained as she snapped her fingers. Loki’s pants caught fire. He tried to conjure water to douse the flames, but it didn’t work. “Yeah, magic’s not gonna work. Only telling the truth will.”

“Fine.” Loki shouted. He waved his hand and the Tesseract appeared in his other hand. “What are you?”

“I go by so many names.” Felicity said. She telekinetically took the Tesseract from Loki and then vanished. She reappeared seconds later.

“Where did you take it?”

“To the other end of space.” She answered. “Thanos is coming, and the farther the Tesseract is from Earth, the better.” She turned to Barry and Cisco. “Time to call in the cavalry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> It only took me 66 chapters, but we're finally at Infinity War


	67. Chapter 67

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone finally finds out what's going on, and Felicity makes sure everyone's in position.

“Thanos is coming, and the farther the Tesseract is from Earth, the better.” Felicity turned to Barry and Cisco. “Time to call in the cavalry.”

Cisco immediately opened a breach and disappeared while Barry sped off. Everyone else was left standing in the room looking confused. Their eyes all turned to Felicity.

“The cavalry? What cavalry?” Steve asked.

“I’ve known this fight was coming for a long time. A very long time.” she answered.

“And?”

“And we need to win, so I’m stacking the deck. This fight is- we’re gonna all the help we can get.” She told them right as a portal appeared behind her.

The heroes from Earth-3 and Earth-9 that she’d recruited stepped through. Jay Garrick wanted to ask her a question, but Felicity gestured for them to sit down, which they did. Earth-22 and Earth-38’s heroes came next with Barry. Since Earth-17 had the largest roster, Barry and Cisco saved that one for last.

“Before you two go, there’s something I need to tell Oliver, Roy, Thea, John and Sara.” Felicity said, motioning for them to follow her outside. “The people I chose, I chose them because they had skills or abilities we could use. This fight, its more than the Undertaking, the siege and Dahrk combined. I need you to know that.”

“Why are you telling us, and just us, this?”

“Because Earth-17’s equivalent to Laurel is still alive, and she’s coming here. And while I might be trying to avert a universal genocide, it doesn’t excuse me not warning you guys.” She explained.

They walked back into the room as the last two heroes from Earth-17 stepped through. Black Canary entered, followed by Green Arrow-17. Oliver saw his doppelganger and only one thing came to mind. “What the hell is on your face?”

“It’s a goatee. Don’t say you haven’t thought about how it would look. Now you know.” Ollie answered.

“Kara, what are you doing here?” Clark asked.

“I was gonna ask you the same thing.”

“Ok, brief explanation time. Clark, this isn’t your Kara and Kara, this isn’t your Clark. Kara is from Earth-38, Clark is from Earth-17. I didn’t want to take both Superman and Supergirl from the same universe, it seemed like a bad idea.” Felicity explained.

“Are you finally gonna tell us what this is about?” Reed Richards asked.

“Yes. If everyone, from every universe, could take a seat.” Everyone sat down. “There’s a being called Thanos. He comes from a planet called Titan. For centuries, he’s been hunting down items known as the Infinity Stones.” Doctor Strange got a startled look on his face and several pairs of eyes turned to Vision. Felicity ignored that and gave everyone a brief explanation of what the Infinity Stones were. “I took the Tesseract far from Earth because it’s the Space Stone.”

“He’s been searching for years. Why is this happening now?”

“Because yesterday, Thanos attacked the planet of Xandar, killed half the population and stole the Power Stone.” She explained.

“What does he want them for?” Bruce Wayne asked. “I assume he isn’t just a collector.”

“No, he’s not. He thinks the universe is out of balance because its overpopulated. If he gets all six Stones, he can snap his fingers and kill off half of the universe. Which is what he wants to do.”

“How do we know he’s going to come here?” J’onn asked.

“Because there’s an Infinity Stone on Earth.” Steve answered.

“Two, actually.” Strange spoke up.

“Twice as many reasons to attack.” Diana said.

“Which is why I took the Space Stone as far away from here as possible.”

“You said there were six. We know where two are and he has one. Where are the other three?” Dinah asked.

“Space Stone is floating around. The Reality Stone is on Knowhere with the Collector. And Soul Stone has been missing for about two thousand years.” Felicity answered. “Given that last part, the chances of him succeeding in his endgame are very low. If he can’t find the Soul Stone, he won’t have all six. However, having any of the Infinity Stones poses a threat to this world, and every world in this universe. Possibly others.”

“Ok.” Scott Free said, “We know what’s happening, we know why we’re here, how do we win?”

“I’m glad you asked. Step one, some of you need to break away from the pack. One, Thor needs to go back into space. Two, needless to say Strange and Vision need to be as far away from each other as possible.”

“We could put in in the Pipeline.” Caitlin suggested.

“Wouldn’t do anything. At the end of the day, its just a building.”

“Speed force?” Barry said.

“Unable to contain the power of an Infinity Stone.”

“The Vanishing Point.” Sara suggested.

“It would work, but only as a last resort and it would only work for Vision.”

“Could we try removing the Stone from Vision?” Bruce Banner suggested.

“We can try.”

“Wait, I’m still confused about something.” Clint cut in. “Thanos is a bug, scary guy, I get that. How are they supposed to help?” He gestured to the heroes from other Earths.

“Every universe is a little different. Thanos knows a lot, but he only knows things of this universe. Some of the people I reached out to, he won’t have seen anything like them before. That gives us an edge.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be some all-powerful being though?”

“I am, but I can’t win a war by myself.” _And it wouldn’t be the point._

Felicity sent Tony, Strange, Banner and Spiderman back into New York City along with Wayne, Nate Summers and both Storm siblings. She put Thor in an escape pod and sent him back into space with J'onn. She suggested heading towards Nidavellir. She told Diana, Steve, Natasha, Sam and Vision to fly over to the UK, just so there would be a little more distance between the two Infinity Stones. With that done, she had everyone else stay at the Compound. Ra’s sent a message to Nyssa to keep the League ready to mobilize at any moment.

Around lunchtime the next day, Felicity was starting to eat her sandwich when a large spaceship appeared in the sky over New York City close to the Sanctum. Two aliens got off of the ship and demanded the Time Stone. At the same time, Vision was walking through Belfast when he was attacked by two unknown beings. Thor’s escape pod exploded and he crashed right into the Milano, Peter Quill’s ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	68. Chapter 68

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Infinity War begins, Felicity is cryptic and there's something almost no one knows.

**The Compound-Two Days Earlier**

Felicity was refining the code for Mac when Constantine appeared in her lab. She wasn’t sure how he got there, but chalked it up to magic of some kind. He looked around before realizing where he was,

“Ah, good. I came to the right place.”

“Something I can help you with?” She asked.

“I was performing an exorcism. Nothing too out of the ordinary, when the demon told me something that caught my attention. Said he could tell me things about you.”

“Oh, and what did he say?”

“Not much that was useful. He was able to tell me why your people, your first people, were struck from the historical record.” Constantine said, hoping to get a reaction.

“I already know why. And I hope you realize why only myself and the dead know that information.”

“Aye, I do. When are you going to tell them?” He gestured towards the door, referring to the other members of her team.

“Not until I absolutely have to. It’s the best kept secret in the universe. My people being forgotten is a small price to pay for that.”

* * *

 

**The Compound-Present**

“There’s an alien ship hovering over New York. Vision sent an SOS from London. Thor’s ship went off-line. What do we do?” Rhodey asked Felicity.

“Thor and J’onn are exactly where they need to be. I foresaw this, I foresaw all of this.” She answered. “Everyone is where they need to be.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think of it like a game of chess. The board is set, the pieces are moving.” She answered.

“And what a game it will be.” A female voice said from the doorway. Everyone spun around and Oliver nocked an arrow and aimed it at the woman.

“What are you doing here?”

“It is the will of Ra’s al Ghul.” Talia answered with an eye roll. “I never told you my surname back in Russia, did I Oliver?”

“No, you didn’t. And Nyssa told me her older sister splintered off from the League.”

“I did, and then you killed my father. The new Demon Head, how does the saying go, made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” She said. “This is the great battle of our time. Did you really think I would willingly sit it out?”

“Look, this fight, its bigger than all of us. You two can sort your issues out afterwards.” Felicity said interrupting their stare down. “I need to go.” She took two steps away before vanishing.

* * *

 

**New York**

“Do you think Felicity knew about this when she sent us?” Bruce Banner asked looking up at the space ship.

“She’s known this was coming for centuries. Of course she knew.” Wayne answered.

One of the aliens began speaking. “Hear me and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the children of Thanos. Be thankfuk, that your meaningless live are now i-“

Tony fired a repulsor in his direction, which the alien blocked by lifting a piece of concrete. “Sorry. Earth’s closed today, you better pack it up and get out of here.”

“Stonekeeper, does this animal speak for you?” Ebony Maw asked Strange.

“No, but I gotta agree.” Strange said as he began performing a spell. “You’re trespassing in this city and on this planet.”

“He means get lost Squidward!” Tony yelled before turning to Banner and asking why the Hulk hadn’t made an appearance.

Bruce was trying to bring his green alter ego out, but the Hulk didn’t seem to want out. Maw began attacking with magic, trying to get the others out of his way so that he could take the stone from Strange. When it became clear that tactic wouldn’t work, he and his partner started to destroy the city. The assembled heroes, he assumed, couldn’t fight them off and protect the civilians at the same time.

Maw managed to corner Stephen but found that he couldn’t remove the Stone from his person. Deciding that bringing Thanos the man carrying the Stone was almost as good as bringing him just the Stone, he knocked Strange out and began to carry him back to his ship. Tony saw them sneaking off and flew after him. Johnny Storm followed suit. Peter webbed himself to the spaceship and snuck inside as it left Earth’s atmosphere.

“What do we do now?” Banner asked Wayne, Sue Storm and Nate.

“Head back to the Compound and see what the next step is.”

* * *

 

**Belfast**

Corvus Glaive had Vision on the ground and was about to use his weapon to remove the Mind Stone from Vision’s forehead when he was forcibly pushed off of him. He went rolling onto the ground for several feet before stopping. He looked up to see a human-looking woman with dark hair standing over Vision.

“Are you hurt?”

“Yes, but we have more pressing matters at the moment, Ms. Prince.” The android answered, looking behind her at Glaive.

“Get behind me.” Diana told him.

From her left side, another alien, Proxima Midnight, appeared and attacked with some kind of staff weapon. Diana fought Proxma while Vision, who’d regained his bearings, began fighting Corvus. It became clear after several minutes that Vision’s best hope was for them to retreat, which Diana tried to do, grabbing Vision and flying off.

Proxima fired some kind of energy blast out of her weapon, which caused Diana to fall out of the sky. Vision tried to get Diana to leave, but she refused. “We have to go, and I refuse to leave any ally behind.”

The two aliens jumped through the roof they’d just crashed through and stalked over to where the pair were. They were about to attack, when they seemed to get distracted by something behind Diana. Steve, Natasha and Sam had arrived to back them up.

Proxima threw her spear at Steve, which he surprisingly caught and threw to Natasha. She used it to attack Corvus and stab him in the abdomen. The spear was psychically recalled by its owner, but before it reached her, it was caught by someone else.

“Fascinating.” Felicity remarked as held it, only inches from Proxima’s outstretched hand. The alien tried again to bring the spear to her, but it didn’t move. “I’m afraid that isn’t going to work.” She focused on the item in her hand, and to everyone’s shock, it began to disintegrate in her hands.

No longer frozen in disbelief, Proxima made her way over to Corvus and yelled at him to stand up. Sam, Natasha and Steve moved closer to them. “We don’t wanna kill you, but we will.”

“You’ll never get the chance again.” Proxima swore as she was beamed back up to her ship.

“We need to get back to the Compound.” Felicity said. “Now.”

One by one, she teleported them back to the Compound.

* * *

 

**Compound**

At the base, everyone was debating what to do. Strange and the Time Stone were no longer on Earth. Thanos was still coming and his soldiers had wounded Vision so that he couldn’t phase properly and was severely weakened. Vision suggested someone such as Felicity or Jean Grey remove the Stone from his body and destroy it, killing him in the process. Banner argued that it was possible to remove the Stone from Vision without killing him, but they couldn’t do it at the Compound. Steve said he knew someone who could help. He made a call to Wakanda while the others mobilized.

Sara, Oliver and Bucky pulled Felicity aside. “You don’t seem nearly as concerned as you should be, even if you can see the future. What aren’t you telling us?”

“We’re going to win.”

“Optimism only goes so far right now.” Oliver said. “If Thanos gets all six Stones-“

“He won’t.” She said with confidence.

“What do-?”

She turned to Bucky. “I finally figured out why this all happened. How this cycle of ours started.”

“And that answer is connected to what’s happening now?”

“Intrinsically.” Felicity answered. “Speaking of the past, Sara, I need a favor.”

* * *

 

**Space**

After Tony, Peter and Johnny snuck about Maw’s ship, they found him torturing Strange using magic. Together, and thanks to Peter being obsessed with early 80s movies, they managed to trick Maw and throw him out of the airlock.

“Stark, can you get us home?” Strange asked.

“Yeah, but I’m not so sure we should.”

“Under no circumstances can we bring the Time Stone to Thanos.”

“You saw what they did, what they can do. If we go to him, he wouldn’t be expecting it.” Johnny argued. “I say we take the fight to him.”

 

The escape pod Thor and J’onn were in exploded right as it reached the same part of space that the Guardians of the Galaxy were flying through. They landed on the ship’s windshield and Drax did a space walk to go grab them. Thankfully, both men were still awake when they were brought into the ship.

“Who are you?” Quill asked them.

“I am Thor, son of Odin, King of Asgard.”

“My name is J’onn J’onz. I am the last son of Mars.”

“Mars isn’t inhabited.” Rocket argued.

“Hence why I am the last son of Mars.” J’onn responded.

“I do not have time for this. I’m taking your pod.” Thor said, strolling past them.

“No, you aren’t. You’re-What do you even want it for?” Quill asked.

“Thanos is coming for the Infinity Stones. He has the Power Stone because he stole it last week when he decimated half of Xandar. He likely has the Space Stone already because a very cryptic blonde woman sent it adrift in space to buy the universe some time. The Mind Stone and Time Stone are safe on Earth. As for the Soul Stone, no one’s ever seen it.”

J’onn watched Gamora fidget when Thor mentioned the Soul Stone but didn’t comment. He briefly delved into her mind and saw that she’d found a map leading to Soul Stone.

“Which means Thanos is going to Knowhere to get the Reality Stone. And I need a weapon, so we need to get to Nivadellir.”

“That’s a made-up word.” Drax yelled.

“All words are made up.”

“That place is real? Seriously? That place is a legend. They make the most powerful, horrific weapons to ever torment the universe.” Rocket said. “I would very much like to go there, please.”

Thor remarked that Rocket was the only person on board who had any brains and invited him to join him on his quest. Rocket agreed, and gave Thor the code to the escape pod, which set Peter off.

“Wait, what- what kinda weapon are we talking about here?”

“The Thanos killing kind.”

“Don’t you think we should all have a weapon like that?”

“No, you simply lack the strength to wield them. your bodies would crumble as your minds collapsed into madness.”

Gamora argued that they should go to Knowhere and stop Thanos from getting another Stone, making him impossible to stop.

“He already is impossible for you to stop.” Thor remarked.

“What do you mean ‘for us to stop’?”

“Exactly that. None of you have the power to stop him, but another might.” Thor answered before turning to J’onn. “Are you coming or staying?”

“Staying.” He answered. “They will need all the help they can get.”

Rocket and Groot went in the pod with Thor while the others traveled to Knowhere. On the journey to Knowhere, Gamora told Peter she knew where the Soul Stone was. She made him swear to kill her if Thanos tried to take her.

The group heading to Knowhere arrived and saw Thanos interrogating the Collector, demanding to know where the Reailty Stone was. Gamora rushed forward and attacked him  stabbing him right through the heart. The room rippled around her as Thanos dropped the illusion he’d set up. He already had the Stone and was simply waiting for the Guardians to catch up. He went to abduct Gamora, and Quill tried to keep his word, but Thanos used the Reality Stone to turn his guns ammo into bubbles and opened a portal behind them.

Thanos’ portal closed and Gamora found herself on his ship. He tried to reconnect to her, hoping to remind her of the better times they’d had. His hope was that she would willingly tell him what she knew. When she spurned his advances and claimed she never found the Soul Stone, he pulled her into a chamber. Nebula was suspended in the air and he was slowly pulling her apart. When Gamora insisted that she didn’t know where the Stone was, he played a memory recording of Nebula’s where Gamora stated she’d found a map and burned it. He asked her again where the Stone was. When she didn’t answer fast enough, he used the Power Stone to pull Nebula even further apart. After she started screaming in pain, Gamora couldn’t take it any longer.

“Vormir! The Stone is on Vormir.”

“Show me.”

* * *

 

**Vormir**

After Gamora had admitted where the Soul Stone was, Thanos used the Space Stone to take both of them to the planet. It looked completely abandoned but he pressed forward. They came across a temple and when they walked inside a ghostly figure appeared before them.

“Welcome Thanos, son of Alars. Gamora, daughter of Thanos.”

“You know us?” Thanos asked.

“It is my burden to know all who journey here.” The figure answered.

“Where is the Soul Stone?”

“The Soul Stone is the most….temperamental of the Infinity Stones. All of the Stones have an awareness, but the Soul Stone has an attribute that sets it apart from its peers. It has a consciousness, a will of its own. You cannot possess it, you must earn its allegiance.”

“Where is it?” 

“The Soul Stone has not been on Vormir for centuries. Not since it found one worthy of its power.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> I know not a lot changed from canon this chapter, but the next one is where things start to get interesting.


	69. Chapter 69

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanos gets some news he doesn't want to hear and Felicity reveals something to Bucky.

**Vormir**

“The Soul Stone has not been on Vormir for centuries. Not since it found one worthy of its power.” The Stonekeeper told Thanos and Gamora.

“What?”

Gamora let out a humorless laugh.

Thanos ignored her. “Who is more worthy than me to wield the Soul Stone? To wield all of the Infinity Stones?”

“One who understands what the Soul Stone wants above all else. And that is not, and has never been you.”

Gamora kept laughing. “ All my life I dreamed of a day, a moment, when you got what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed. But now, you kill and torture and you call it mercy. The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize and it told you no. You failed.”

“Who has the Stone? How did they win its allegiance?” Thanos demanded to know.

The Stonekeeper removed their hood and both visitors were surprised to see a woman who looked like she was from Earth facing them. “I knew her as Shoshannah. As for how she won the Stone’s allegiance, she made a sacrifice you are not prepared to make.”

“What is it? This has been my life’s work for centuries. There is no sacrifice I’m unwilling to make.”

“It does not matter.” Cassandra told him. “The Stone will not switch sides. It judged her to be worthy and until she dies, the Stone will only answer to her.”

“Then I will kill her, and take the Stone from her corpse.” Thanos vowed. “Gamora, let’s go.” He turned to see Gamora was nowhere to be found. “Gamora?”

“I am afraid that while you were questioning me about the Stone, a young man with long hair appeared behind you, grabbed Gamora and teleported away. You seem to have lost your leverage.”

Thanos squeezed his hand, activating the Power Stone. He didn’t have the Soul Stone, but he did have what he needed to kill the Stonekeeper. Surprisingly, nothing happened to her.

“That will not work on me. You cannot kill what is already dead.” She said mockingly.

Thanos vanished. It was time to return to Titan.

* * *

 

**Earth**

“Sorry about that.” Cisco said as he let go of Gamora. “But I figured you didn’t wanna be around the angry grape any longer.”

She looked around and saw she was on a ship of some kind. “Where am I?”

“Earth.” Felicity said from behind her. “More specifically, we are en route to a country called Wakanda. To battle against your- against Thanos. I feel like calling him your father would be rude. Anyway, we're fighting him. In case you would like to join.”

“You can’t win against Thanos. He has three Infinity Stones already.”

“I know. Soon, he’ll have four, but the Mind Stone and the Soul Stone won’t be so easy for him to collect.” She said. “And since he’ll never get all six, we can beat him.”

“How do you know he won’t?”

“You’ll see.” Felicity said with a smirk.

 

The jet Felicity was on landed in Wakanda and they disembarked. A few people did a double take after seeing Gamora, but no one asked who she was or why she was there. The assembled heroes were gathered in front of the building housing Shuri’s lab.

“What’s the plan?” Steve, Bruce Wayne and Oliver asked at the same time.

“Thanos is gonna be coming for the Mind Stone. If my instinct is right, and it always is, his army’s gonna arrive soon. We need to hold them off long enough for Shuri to do her work.” Felicity answered. “Everyone except Wally’s gonna go fight them.”

“Why am I staying behind?” The speedster in question asked.

“Because I’ve got something important I need you to do.” She said. She needed one speedster to stay out of the fight, just in case. Their connection to the Speedforce made them invaluable in this type of situation.

“What happens after she takes the Stone out?” Banner asked. “We’ll still have an Infinity Stone and an army trying to take it.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

Thea was about to ask for a better explanation when a siren sounded. There was something entering Wakanda’s airspace..

“Evacuate the city. Engage all defenses. And get this man a shield.” T’Challa said, pointing to Steve.

“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing that we arrived before the alien armada.” Talia remarked. The plane carrying the League had been the last one to land before the siren started to go off.

“Zip it.” Oliver growled.

“Of course. You are Heir to the Demon.”

“Bucky, come here. I need to talk to you.” Felicity said, pulling him away. “I know you don’t like going to sleep-“

“But Ra’s needs to make an appearance right now.” He finished. “He’s been telling me the same thing all day. The League needs its commander.”

“It’s not just that. The League needs the Demon Head. And the Phoenix Force needs someone willing to stop it if things go to far. I don’t think you’re the person to do that. He is.” She said. “I’m trying to save the universe, causing it to collapse would be kinda the opposite of doing that.”

Bucky closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, Felicity knew Bucky was ‘asleep’ and Ra’s was there. He looked down at the gun in his hands with distaste. “I really must speak with him about this. it is a cowards weapon.”

“You can tell him that after we save the universe, my love.”

“What was your discovery? You told him that you learned why the Phoenix Force came to earth so many centuries ago. How this cycle started. What was the reason?”

“To ensure no one could find the Soul Stone. It came to Earth the night Shoshannah was conceived, looking for me. And I came to Earth, seeking it. I wanted to keep it out of the wrong hands, and it wanted to be kept out of said wrong hands.”

“You created the chain of events that led to your own birth?”

“Like a circle, there’s no end or beginning. Or like a phoenix rising from the ashes.” She answered. “We should go.”

* * *

 

**73BC**

“There is no life without you.” Taking a deep breath, Shoshannah stabbed herself in the abdomen. “I love you.”

“And I you. In this life and the next.” With one last admission, Jacob closed his eyes and they never reopened.

“Oh, my love. If only we met in another time and in another place.” A few moments later, her heart stopped beating.

Seconds after Shoshannah’s last breath, Sara , Constantine and Ray entered the room. Felicity told Sara to take the Waverider to this exact day, at this exact time, to get something.

“Why this exact moment?” Ray asked.

“It’s a fixed event. Shoshannah will always die and her death will always spark their cycle of reincarnation. If they’d seen us, their deaths might not have happened.”

“I know that. I just don’t get why she sent us here. What are we even looking for?” Ray asked.

“This.” Sara said, picking something off of the floor.

“We came here for a sword?”

“It’s not just any sword, mate.” Constantine said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?


	70. Chapter 70

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle in Wakanda starts and saving Gamora doesn't change as much as you might think.

**Titan**

Thanos stepped through the portal he created onto Titan. He was expecting Maw to be here with the Time Stone, but found the planet was devoid of life as always. He followed the smoke from a crashed ship and saw a being he didn’t recognize sitting in front of the ruins.

“Oh yeah. You’re much more of a Thanos.” Doctor Strange said.

* * *

 

**Waverider**

“Explain to me what’s so special about this sword, Trench Coat.” Mick remarked as the Legends stood around looking at the sword Felicity sent Sara to get. Sara plotted a course for five minutes after they left 2018.

“That sword is one of the most powerful weapons in the universe.” Constantine answered.

“Doesn’t look like much.”

“Maybe not, but looks are deceiving.” He said, moving to pick it up. “Which why none of you lot are going to-“ He touched the hilt and it instantly burned his hand. “Bloody fantastic. She sends us to get a weapon, and we can’t even touch it.”

“Sara could.” Ray pointed out.

“Great. Until you give this to Felicity, this weapon doesn’t leave your sight, got it?”

“I’m still confused about why its important.” Sara said.

“Items that were involved in supernatural or cosmic events have a tendency to get more powerful as they get older. And the more vital an item is to said event increases its power. The spear that pierced Christ’s side has the ability to change reality, and it wasn’t even the thing that killed him. This sword killed the Phoenix’s true host body. Imagine what’s its capable of.” John said.

* * *

 

**Earth**

Felicity and Ra’s left Shuri’s lab along with the other heroes. A small contingent of League members were left in the building with instructions to kill anything that tried to enter the building as long as Shuri was working.

Everyone else headed to where the army had arrived. Felicity had previously told Clark, Kara, Diana, Rhodey and anyone else who could fly that their job was to provide air support. Knowing how powerful and durable Carol was, she was also told that if she saw an opening to take out a few ships before they landed, that would be more than okay.

Sara and the Legends had arrived sometime after the defenses started gathering. Ray and Mick went to Shuri’s lab. Ray to help her out, Mick to keep any intruders away. Sara held out a sword, still sheathed, to Felicity as soon as she was in arms reach. “I believe this is yours.”

“Actually, it belonged to the man who killed him the first time.” She responded, taking the weapon and pointing to her soulmate. “I was so young the last time I saw this.”

“Can you stroll down memory lane after the battle’s over?” Slade asked. “It is a nice sword.”

“Right.” She turned her attention back to the treeline, where alien ships were landing and the army was beginning to amass.

“I feel like someone should say something. Make a speech. In movies, this is where the general or whoever’s in charge makes a speech to get everybody pumped.” Barry remarked.

“If we fail, we’re all gonna die, so don’t fail.” Jessica Jones said.

“You kinda suck at making speeches, no offense.”

“I have lived a long time. I have taken many lives. I have died many deaths. Death is not something one should fear. I do not know how many of us will remain standing once the sun has risen. Those of you who fall, I shall see you in the next life. I hope you take many of our enemy from this life before you expire.” Ra’s shouted. “So that those who have died for this cause will not have died in vain. And so that Death itself will be proud to claim us.”

“Why does it sound like he’s looking forward to this?” Thea asked.

“I have never met an adversary who could offer me what I call ‘a beautiful death’. I hope that, with the most-deadly army in the cosmos gathered against us, there is one out there that is up to the challenge.” He said.

Before anyone else could respond, two aliens broke away from the crowd and towards the barrier. Felicity, T’Challa, Natasha, Steve and Okoye moved forward.

Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian met them at the barrier.

“Where’s your friend?” Natasha taunted.

“He will pay for his life with yours. Thanos will have that stone.”

“You are in Wakanda now. Thanos will have nothing  but dust and blood.”

“We have blood to spare.” Proxima said threateningly.

“Well, he certainly did.” Nyssa said, walking over to them. She was holding something in her hand, and when she reached Felicity, she held it up. It was Corvuis Glaive’s severed head. She dropped it onto the ground and kicked it towards the alien.

With nothing else to say, the group turned and walked away. “You cut his head off and then gloated about it?” Steve asked. “How was that supposed to help?”

“I eliminated a potential threat. and you were never going to convince them to surrender or retreat.” She said. “And I’ve never gotten to kill an alien before.”

When they made it back to the main group, Cisco sarcastically asked if the aliens had surrendered. Proxima must’ve given a signal, because the army rushed forward, slamming into the barrier. Wave after wave ran into the barrier, not caring if they died as long as it meant another might break through.

“They’re killing themselves.” Okoye said in shock.

“If they get to the other side of the perimeter, there’s nothing between them and Vision.” Bruce Banner pointed out.

“We need to keep them in front of us.” Oliver said.

“How do we do that?”

“We open the barrier.” T’Challa said before giving the orders to open that part of the barrier.

“This will be the end of Wakanda.” M’Baku said.

“Then it will be the noblest ending in history.” Okoye told him.

The king shouted, “Wakanda Forever” before running forward. The Wakandans repeated the shout and ran after him, along with everyone else.

The two armies met in the middle. Most of Thanos’ army was unarmed, but they were strong enough to pull a person apart and would bite and scratch at anyone they got close enough to swipe at. The battle was chaos, as war always was. Ra’s turned around at one point after cutting an alien in half only to see Felicity vanish. He didn’t have time to react, as another Outrider rushed towards him and he had a more pressing issue to deal with.

* * *

 

**Nivadellir**

Thor listened to Eitri curse. The mechanism holding the iris open was broken. “With the iris closed, I can’t heat the metal.”

“How long will it take to heat?” Thor asked.

“A few minutes, maybe more. Why?”

“I’m gonna hold it open.”

“That’s suicide.”

“So is facing Thanos without that axe.” Thor responded before making his way over to the broken mechanism.

“You understand, boy, you’re about to take the full force of a star. It’ll kill you.”

“Only if I die.”

“Yes. That’s what….killing you means.”

* * *

 

**Titan**

Strange’s plan was working. Thanos was being contained. Mantis was putting him to sleep. Peter and Tony were in the process of pulling the Gauntlet off. It was almost over. Then, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

“I have to give it to you, it really could’ve worked.” Felicity said.

“What do you mean ‘could have’?” He asked.

“Who the heck’s he talking to?” Quill asked.

“You know why you’re here. You’ve seen the outcome.” She said. “As I’ve seen it since the beginning. You weren’t meant to stop Thanos. You will always travel to Titan and on Titan, you will always give him the Stone. You know this. Because this will always happen.”

Peter Quill walked over to Thanos as he was further weakened. “Where is she?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Nebula said. “He went with Gamora to Vormir to get the Soul Stone. He didn’t get it, but he came back and she didn’t.” Thanos had spent centuries planning this. If they went to Vormir and the Soul Stone wasn’t there, it wouldn’t surprise her if he killed her in anger.

“Asshole!” Quill yelled as he struck Thanos across the face. The blow dislodged Mantis from her hold on him, which led to him no longer being under her power.

Peter Parker and Tony had just started to pull the Gauntlet off when Thanos woke back up and started fighting back.

“I’m sorry, Stephen, but we’re in the endgame now.” Felicity said before disappearing.

* * *

 

**Earth**

The battle in Wakanda was quickly getting out of hand. Yes, the Earth had an army of protectors, but there were thousands, if not tens of thousands, fighting to get the Mind Stone. Even the heroes who had powers could only even the odds so much.

Oliver, Bruce Wayne, Ra’s, Barry, Thea, Jessica, Jennifer and countless others were started to get overrun when a cascade of colors erupted in the sky. Waves of lightning shot out of the rainbow of colors, striking the Outriders, and only the Outriders.

The lights went away to reveal three figures standing there. A tree, a raccoon and Thor.

“Bring me Thanos!” Thor shouted as he ran forward.

Rocket shouted “Oh hell yeah.” as he found an alien to fight, while Groot yelled his standard “I am Groot!” as he ran forward as well.

Gamora breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw them. Despite her best efforts, she was terrified that her whole team would die after Thanos had abducted her.

* * *

 

**Titan**

Once Strange’s plan to take the Gauntlet from Thanos fell apart, the battle turned against them. The only reason it had nearly worked the first time was because they had the element of surprise. They couldn’t blitz attack him a second time, which led to where they were now. Barely holding him off and Thanos was moments away from killing Tony.

“I hope they remember you.”

“Spare his life and I’ll give you the Stone.” Strange said before Thanos could dig his weapon any further into Tony’s torso.

“Don’t!” Tony yelled, but Strange handed the Time Stone over.

Thanos took the Stone from Strange, added it to the Gauntlet, and opened a portal behind him using the Space Stone.

“Why did you do that?” Tony asked.

“We’re in the endgame now.”

* * *

 

**Earth**

After her talk with Strange, and giving Thor a little nudge so that he’d make it inside Eitri’s forge before the star killed him, Felicity returned to the battlefield in Wakanda.

“You couldn’t have found a better time to take a break?” Luke Cage asked her.

“It couldn’t be avoided.” She responded, “How are we looking?”

“We’re holding them off.” Barda told her.

She teleported away since the left flank seemed to be where most of the aliens were gathered.

“Guys, we’ve got incoming.” Carol reported in. From her view above the battle, she saw a portal open just past the barrier.

“I’ll be right-“ Felicity started to say, but midway through the sentence, she saw Proxima Midnight stab a sword though Digg’s abdomen. “No!”

She felt something happen. It came from deep within her, but when she let that scream out, she could feel something coming off of her body in waves. The kid gloves were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Thoughts? Theories?
> 
> To stave off the 'why did Digg get stabbed?' question- I like the trope of "bad guys finally makes good guy angry enough to fully use their powers/strength" but I dislike the fact that its the good guy's love interest that has to get hurt for that to happen. Is someone you love as a friend not good enough to warrant a reaction? I say that it is.


End file.
